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

According to the team, the system enables more stable and adaptive robot behavior without requiring massive amounts of real-world data collection. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026

As each dog learns to herd and manage livestock, progress is measured through a series of real-world challenges that test skill, instinct, and partnership, culminating in a final working dog competition where one is crowned Wonder Dog champion. —Peter White, Deadline, 7 May 2026

Finance leaders from BlackRock’s Larry Fink to Robinhood’s Vlad Tenev have displayed enthusiasm for tokenization, a term for representing real-world assets as tokens on the blockchain. —Jack Kubinec, Fortune, 6 May 2026

Acer Gaming Monitor Deal The 1,500R curve of the Acer Nitro wraps around your periphery, pulling you into your favorite worlds and pushing the real-world clutter out of sight. —Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 6 May 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