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

The game’s creators hope that the virtual treasure hunt will lead to some real-world discoveries. — Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 8 July 2026

Humans have no innate cognitive machinery designed to string letters into words and connect them to their real-world analogues. — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Maisel and Mahoney point to at least three reasons why real-world markets behave differently than old-school economics would predict. — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 7 July 2026

These improvements could shorten the path from laboratory research to real-world deployment, helping new battery technologies reach the market sooner. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 8 July 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