Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
an occasion on which one is reminded of the nature of things in the real world;
- Example: "this program is intended as a reality check for CEOs"- Example: "after all those elaborate productions, I felt in need of a reality check"
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
reality check
n 1: an occasion on which one is reminded of the nature of
things in the real world; "this program is intended as a
reality check for CEOs"; "after all those elaborate
productions, I felt in need of a reality check"
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
reality check
n.
1. The simplest kind of test of software or hardware; doing the equivalent
of asking it what 2 + 2 is and seeing if you get 4. The software equivalent
of a smoke test.
2. The act of letting a real user try out prototype software. Compare
sanity check.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
reality check
The simplest kind of functional test of software or
hardware; doing the equivalent of asking it what 2 + 2 is and
seeing if it says four. The software equivalent of a smoke
test. A reality check may include letting a real user try out
prototype software.
A sanity check is even more basic, the equivalent of checking
that the above addition was implemented with an addition operator
rather than subtraction.
(2007-03-15)