virtual reality

noun

: an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (such as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one's actions partially determine what happens in the environment
also : the technology used to create or access a virtual reality

Examples of virtual reality in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Much of the show's spectacle comes as Oxford 5 members Rooney and theoretical physicist Cheng are pulled into an immersive virtual reality game. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024 Production was building what became the backdrop for the show’s pioneering virtual reality game, and Hong was face-to-face with some 300 giant LED screens that were all individually designed to portray the sky of an extraterrestrial planet. Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024 The company debuted its first virtual reality game, NFL Pro Era, in 2022 and recently closed a $20 million funding round led by GV, formerly known as Google Ventures. Vanessa Perdomo, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2024 Large swaths of it take place inside a virtual reality game where players visit different eras of human history in an attempt to solve an astrophysics problem. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2024 It could be turned into a video game or a virtual reality experience using Apple Vision Pro or Meta headsets. Heather Knight, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Digital twins and industrial metaverse applications allow for the creation of digital, virtual reality, or augmented reality simulations of live operations, including mimicking real-life storm conditions to improve training and emergency preparedness ahead of and during disaster response. Osvaldo Di Campli, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024 Their results, published this week in JAMA Psychiatry, indicate a workaround may actually be found through a trio of tools: exposure therapy, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and virtual reality. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024 Thanks to virtual reality and avatar technology, fans will walk away from the experience having spoken to and taken a selfie with Messi. Vitas Carosella, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'virtual reality.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of virtual reality was in 1987

Dictionary Entries Near virtual reality

Cite this Entry

“Virtual reality.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtual%20reality. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

virtual reality

noun
: an artificial environment which is experienced through sights and sounds provided by a computer and in which one's actions partly decide what happens in the environment

More from Merriam-Webster on virtual reality

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!