perform
Americanverb (used with object)
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to perform miracles.
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to go through or execute in the proper, customary, or established manner.
to perform the marriage ceremony.
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to carry into effect; fulfill.
Perform what you promise.
- Synonyms:
- effect, achieve, accomplish
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to enact (a play, part, etc.), as on the stage, in movies, or on television.
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to render (music), as by playing or singing.
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to accomplish (any action involving skill or ability), as before an audience.
to perform a juggling act.
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to complete.
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to exhibit behaviors associated with (a particular social role or identity).
This study investigates the ways in which biracial Americans perform race in their day-to-day lives.
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to behave in ways that exhibit (a socially acceptable belief, trait, or quality), often merely for show.
Nineteenth-century British women found in the antislavery movement a perfect way to perform empathy.
verb (used without object)
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to fulfill a command, promise, or undertaking.
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to execute or do something.
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to act in a play.
to perform in the role of Romeo.
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to perform music.
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to go through any performance.
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(of loans, investments, etc.) to yield a profit; earn income.
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to have sexual intercourse.
I could not perform in my first intimate encounter with the love of my life.
verb
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to carry out or do (an action)
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(tr) to fulfil or comply with
to perform someone's request
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to present or enact (a play, concert, etc) before or otherwise entertain an audience
the group performed Hamlet
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informal (intr) to accomplish sexual intercourse
he performed well
Synonym Usage
Perform, discharge, execute, transact mean to carry to completion a prescribed course of action. Perform is the general word, often applied to ordinary activity as a more formal expression than do, but usually implying regular, methodical, or prolonged application or work: to perform an exacting task. Discharge implies carrying out an obligation, often a formal or legal one: to discharge one's duties as a citizen. Execute means either to carry out an order or to carry through a plan or program: to execute a maneuver. Transact, meaning to conduct or manage, has commercial connotations: to transact business.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perform
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English parformen, from Anglo-French parformer, alteration (by association with forme form ) of Middle French, Old French parfournir “to accomplish”; see per-, furnish
Explanation
To perform most often means to sing, dance act or put on any kind of show. Perform also means, however, to carry out almost any function or action — to do something, in other words. Parents love to watch their kids perform. Nothing delights mommy or daddy more than watching junior sing or dance in the school play. Later in life, though, they'll be happy when their kids perform acts of kindness or when they perform the duties required of them by their jobs. "The surgeon entertained the other doctors when he performed an aria from Rigoletto while he performed an appendectomy." Now that's impressive.
Vocabulary lists containing perform
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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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.
Leerink Partners downgraded Regeneron to Market Perform from Outperform, citing the latest trial upset as well as “Eylea erosion risk.”
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
He is the first traditional starter since at least 1900 to surrender one run or fewer through his first six outings of a season, according to Stats Perform.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
Ric Prentiss upgraded shares of Disney to Outperform from Market Perform and gave the stock a price target of $115 on Wednesday.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
Just 1.1% of all points scored by last year’s champions from Florida came from first-years, according to Stats Perform.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Perform an energetic rhythm on a drum to engage children to move or prepare for a more rigorous physical transition.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
