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

But despite optimism that quantum computing could one day change the world — or at least computers’ role in it — experts in the field have suggested that Google’s quantum computing breakthrough is still lacking in real-world uses. —Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2024

Increasingly, this will involve immersive virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) environments that simulate real-world environments, scenarios and interactions. —Bernard Marr, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

Google also claims Willow can correct errors in real time—a critical step toward making quantum computing practical for real-world problems in medicine, artificial intelligence and energy optimisation. —Tom Howarth, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024

Our real-world gaming testing comes from the in-game benchmarks of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. —PCMAG, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above