real-world

adjective

ˈrē(-ə)l-ˈwər(-ə)ld 

: 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

Not content with limiting real-world testing, F1 now also strictly limits the number of hours a team can use a wind tunnel—which can be only 60 percent scale—as well as the number of hours of CFD simulations. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2026

Rather than relying on centralized data factories, this lightweight and scalable system allows data to be gathered across diverse real-world environments, enabling us to generate millions of hours of data per year. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026

As per Ursa Major representatives, the achievement shows not only performance, but also reusability, durability, and rapid turnaround, which are essential for real-world deployment. —Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 30 Apr. 2026

At Appalachia Provisions Café, students gain real-world experience in customer service and operations. —Zach Wichter, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for real-world

• lifeworld
• unfurled
• curled
• furled
• hurled
• knurled
• swirled
• twirled
• whirled
• whorled
• world
• netherworld