: existing or occurring in reality : drawn from or drawing on actual events or situations : real-life
a real-world example
… the complex relationship between a word and the real-world thing it labels.Jean Aitchison
Digital objects aren't bound by the same constraints as real-world objects—that is, broadly speaking, the whole point of digital objects—but they're often made to look like real-world objects anyway.Lev Grossman
… combine the rigors of academics with the soothing realities of real-world applications.Ricardo Bilton
The paintings are essentially abstract, but they don't feel abstract. They feature, besides passages of figurative drawing, a real-world aura …Peter Schjeldahl

Examples of real-world in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Focusing on what is behind those words with real-world actions took one of our stores from having 5% of sales from the local Chinese community to over 40%. Matthew Phillips, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025 When a Republican Congress and Democratic President Bill Clinton enacted welfare reform in 1996, researchers tracked its real-world effects without ideological preconceptions. Andrew V. Papachristos, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025 This unusual public health policy inadvertently created a real-world experiment that has provided the strongest evidence to date that the shingles vaccine appears to have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 2 Apr. 2025 Expanding such programs translates into real-world opportunities. Chéri Pierre, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for real-world

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of real-world was in 1963

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Cite this Entry

“Real-world.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/real-world. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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