always-on

adjective

al·​ways-on ˈȯl-wēz-ˈȯn 

-ˈän,

-wəz-,

-(ˌ)wāz-,

 also  ˈȯ-

: always active, operating, or powered

an always-on Internet connection

When a power shortage occurs and electricity costs rise, the always-on devices scattered throughout … your facility consume increasingly expensive power.

—Gilbert Held

Examples of always-on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There's a feeling among party leaders that the next DNC chair needs to be someone with experience leading that type of always-on campaigning style. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 12 Dec. 2024

Google first showed a demo of its all-encompassing, multimodal virtual assistant at Google I/O this spring and clearly imagines Astra as an always-on helper in your life. —David Pierce, The Verge, 11 Dec. 2024

This means all businesses, ours included, will have to ensure an always-on approach to customer feedback and make the necessary additional investments to ensure our digital solutions are continuous in meeting the needs of our customers. 2. —Bill Pappas, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

The touch bevel design gives it a sleek look, while the AMOLED display creates a vividly bright and colorful watch face, which can be set to always-on. —PCMAG, 1 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above