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

Simply sealing a model inside an isolated test environment is not enough, because to learn real-world tasks, a model may legitimately need to reach the internet, use hundreds of software tools, run its own code, and even spin up other machines. — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

And while 388 hp might sound a bit underwhelming as quadruple-digit outputs become more commonplace, the Carrera T’s straight-line performance is more than sufficient in any real-world context. — Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2026

At the same time, outsourcing certain chores to AI agents causes real-world problems. — Adam Clark Estes, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026

The study was small, involving just 23 adolescents, and its findings may not reflect how every teen responds to real-world friendship conflicts. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 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