real time: Meaning and Definition of

re'al time'

Pronunciation: (rē'ul, rēl), [key]
  1. the actual time elapsed in the performance of a computation by a computer, the result of the computation being required for the continuation of a physical process.
  2. the actual time during which a process takes place or an event occurs.
  3. at once; instantaneously.

re•al-time

Pronunciation: (rē'ul-tīm', rēl'-), [key]
— adj. Computers.
  1. of or pertaining to applications in which the computer must respond as rapidly as required by the user or necessitated by the process being controlled.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.