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

Scaling battery technology With the battery now installed in a working vehicle, Stellantis and Factorial have launched a testing and calibration program to gather performance data from real-world operation. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 11 June 2026

Many equivalencies, especially those involving higher level courses, may never be used in real-world transfer scenarios, yet maintaining their accuracy, once established, is an institutional obligation. —Troy Holaday, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026

Workshop builds practical skills Library staff said attendees can gain useful, real-world skills. —Hannah Kliger, CBS News, 11 June 2026

Investors have piled into robotics startups in recent times as attention turns to deploying AI in physical systems that can interact in real-world environments. —Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 10 June 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