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

Lessons from 1,000 Deals — Price Pritchett A practitioner’s guide to avoiding integration missteps, based on patterns observed across hundreds of real-world transactions. —Jennifer J. Fondrevay, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

In more realistic, real-world conditions, the researchers did see performance drop and costs double. —Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2026

Venus enters slow-and-steady Taurus on March 30, grounding your romantic ideals into real-world commitments. —Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026

Grounded in neuroscience and enriched by philosophy and real-world examples, Goleman’s book speaks to both the head and the heart of his readers. —Jasna Hodžić, Big Think, 29 Jan. 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