response time

American

noun

Psychology. the time consumed in making a response.
Computers. the time that elapses while waiting for a computer to respond to a command.

response time British

noun

computing the length of time taken by a system to respond to an instruction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of response time

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If the boss is worried about slow response times, for example, you could talk up your habit of answering email and Slack messages right away.

From The Wall Street Journal

He added that state and local police have improved their response time to removing protest barricades and driving away protesters trying to disrupt DHS operations.

From Salon

"The lack of communication slowed the response time, and the response time from Tui to then the clinic," she said.

From BBC

The firm found that Starlink provided faster downloads and uploads, along with the least latency, which refers to the delay between an action, like starting a movie, and the system’s response time.

From MarketWatch

The coast guard's response time had been "unacceptable", he said.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023