virtual reality

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ˈvir•tu•al reˈal•i•ty, n. [uncountable]

1. Computing the computer simulation of a realistic, three-dimensional environment, allowing the user to become an active participant through the use of special gloves, headphones, and goggles.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

vir′tual real′ity, 

1. Computing a realistic simulation of an environment, including three-dimensional graphics, by a computer system using interactive software and hardware.

• 1985–90

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

virtual reality noun

1. a technique by which a person, wearing equipment such as a headset or gloves, has the experience of being in an environment created by a computer, and of interacting with and causing changes in it
2. such environments created by computer

Abbreviation: VR