simultaneous

adjective si·mul·ta·neous \ ˌsī-məl-ˈtā-nē-əs , -nyəs also ˌsi- \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: simultaneous in a Sentence

Definition of simultaneous

1 : existing or occurring at the same time : exactly coincident

2 : satisfied by the same values of the variables

simultaneous equations

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simultaneity

\ˌsī-məl-tə-ˈnē-ə-tē, -ˈnā- also ˌsi-\ noun

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simultaneously

play \ˌsī-məl-ˈtā-nē-əs-lē, -nyəs- also ˌsi-\ adverb

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simultaneousness

noun

See simultaneous defined for English-language learners

See simultaneous defined for kids

Examples of simultaneous in a Sentence

The two gunshots were simultaneous.
a simultaneous release of the movie and its soundtrack on CD

Recent Examples of simultaneous from the Web

But back in the 1960s, human spaceflight remained an area of simultaneous wonder and worry.

— nathan mattise, Ars Technica, "Trailer: 20th century’s greatest technical achievement goes Hollywood in First Man," 11 June 2018
In a way, Zuckerberg was testifying before two simultaneous, but distinct, hearings: one helmed by privacy advocates on the left, and another by free-speech defenders on the right.

— issie lapowsky, WIRED, "Mark Zuckerberg and the Tale of Two Hearings," 11 Apr. 2018
Though the play is in English, John and Christine sometimes speak to each other in Spanish, and because of the stage configuration, there’s no simultaneous translation.

— christine dolen, miamiherald, "'Queen of Basel' and the next evolution of compassion, empathy and forgiveness | Miami Herald," 11 Apr. 2018
Contrast those approaches with services such as Netflix, Hulu and Spotify: Your monthly fee allows a specified number of simultaneous streams, such as two or four.

— david pogue, Scientific American, "How Online Subscription Services Deal with the Problem of Password Sharing," 1 Dec. 2017
In early 2013, Harvard biologist George Church and the Broad’s Zhang published simultaneous papers showing that CRISPR can be programmed to cut the genome inside human cells, a step toward turning CRISPR into a disease treatment.

— sharon begley, STAT, "Who gets credit for CRISPR? Prestigious award singles out three, and leaves out a notable scientist," 31 May 2018
Kilauea entered its fourth week of what may be an unprecedented, simultaneous eruption at its summit crater and along a six-mile string of fissures 25 miles down its east flank.

— jolyn rosa, Anchorage Daily News, "Fast-moving lava from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano closes highway," 30 May 2018
Regardless of outcome, Sunday night will stand as another significant chapter in the history of LeBron James, one which has become simultaneous with that of the sport at large.

— jeremy woo, SI.com, "LeBron James Helps Cavs Stave Off Elimination, Sets Up Winner-Take-All Game 7," 25 May 2018
Strewn on the long tables are Chinese-made Huawei tablets and headphones with two channels for simultaneous translation, from Mandarin to English and vice versa.

— klara glowczewska, Town & Country, "Meet the Chinese Philanthropists Who Are Pledging Big Money to End Climate Change," 25 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'simultaneous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of simultaneous

Latin simul at the same time + English -taneous (as in instantaneous) — more at same

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1660

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

simultaneous Synonyms

Synonyms

coeval, coexistent, coexisting, coextensive, coincident, coincidental, concurrent, contemporaneous, contemporary, coterminous, synchronous;

Antonyms

asynchronous, noncontemporary, nonsimultaneous, nonsynchronous;

Synonym Discussion of simultaneous

contemporary, contemporaneous, coeval, synchronous, simultaneous, coincident mean existing or occurring at the same time. contemporary is likely to apply to people and what relates to them.