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• real time
  real time

  noun

  the actual time elapsed in the performance of a computation by a computer, the result of the computation being required for the continuation of a physical process.
• real-time
  real-time

  adjective

  of or relating to applications in which the computer must respond as rapidly as required by the user or necessitated by the process being controlled.

real time

¹ American  

[ree-uhl, reel] / ˈri əl, ril /

noun

• real times
  plural

1. Computers. the actual time elapsed in the performance of a computation by a computer, the result of the computation being required for the continuation of a physical process.

2. the actual time during which a process takes place or an event occurs.

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idioms

1. in real time, at once; instantaneously.

real-time ² American  

[ree-uhl-tahym, reel-] / ˈri əlˈtaɪm, ˈril- /

adjective

Computers.

1. of or relating to applications in which the computer must respond as rapidly as required by the user or necessitated by the process being controlled.

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real-time British  

adjective

1. denoting or relating to a data-processing system in which a computer receives constantly changing data, such as information relating to air-traffic control, travel booking systems, etc, and processes it sufficiently rapidly to be able to control the source of the data

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real-time Cultural  

1. A term used to describe computer systems that update information at the same rate as they receive data.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• real times
  plural

Etymology

Origin of real time

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

real time real-time

It has built a mechanical hand that can translate a teachers' voice into sign language in real time, allowing deaf children to learn alongside their hearing counterparts.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Seeing how they tidied up after themselves in real time Saturday, you probably believe — to use Chesney’s word — they can get it done.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

While those tools are valuable for planning future experiments, they are far too slow to guide an experiment in real time when the entire test may last only a few minutes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

Supervision could examine the past or look in real time.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

When one goes back to the real time in which we live, however, there will still appear to be singularities.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

When a glacial lake in the Tibet region burst in July last year, causing severe flooding and deaths in Nepal, it brought fresh demands for Nepal to secure real-time information sharing from China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

One possible long-term remedy might be river level gauges that relay changes to authorities in real-time, giving residents 20-30 minutes of warning, he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Even those too young to have any real-time memory of the terrorist attacks have received the trauma by osmosis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Foster explained his career pivot in Tuesday’s episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” TV show, a documentary-style series that tracks an NFL team’s training camp in real-time.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

People are always talking about real-time—real-time stock quotes, real-time information, real-time news—but in here I think I had real-time real time.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini