Synonyms

perform

American

[per-fawrm] / pərˈfɔrm /

verb (used with object)

to carry out; execute; do.

to perform miracles.
to go through or execute in the proper, customary, or established manner.

to perform the marriage ceremony.
to carry into effect; fulfill.

Perform what you promise.

Synonyms:

effect, achieve, accomplish
to enact (a play, part, etc.), as on the stage, in movies, or on television.
to render (music), as by playing or singing.
to accomplish (any action involving skill or ability), as before an audience.

to perform a juggling act.
to complete.
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.
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)

to fulfill a command, promise, or undertaking.
to execute or do something.
to act in a play.

to perform in the role of Romeo.
to perform music.
to go through any performance.
(of loans, investments, etc.) to yield a profit; earn income.
to have sexual intercourse.

I could not perform in my first intimate encounter with the love of my life.

perform British

/ pəˈfɔːm /

verb

to carry out or do (an action)
(tr) to fulfil or comply with

to perform someone's request
to present or enact (a play, concert, etc) before or otherwise entertain an audience

the group performed Hamlet
informal (intr) to accomplish sexual intercourse

he performed well

"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

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

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing perform

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

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.

See Examples For:

perform performs performed performing

In September, Jay-Z is scheduled to perform stadium concerts in London and Paris ahead of an Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

As the resident orchestra the Vienna Philharmonic will also perform five concert programs, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, Tugan Sokhiev, Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann and Andris Nelsons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

"In a democracy, a judge must be able to perform their duty without fear or favour."

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Conductive nanoparticles used in electronic circuits also perform best when their surfaces remain as clean and pristine as possible.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

For my science project, I’m going to make a model of the moon’s surface and perform an experiment to infer how the moon’s impact craters were formed.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Bob Baker Marionette Theater performs at the River Solstice Festival, clockwise from top left.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Here, Madonna takes the listener through a pivotal moment in her early career, as she dances, performs and hustles at the famous New York club where she eventually broke through.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Alongside the war’s effects, developments on the AI frontier will determine how the global economy performs in the years ahead, the IMF said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

The newly identified defense relies on a protein that closely resembles one of the most important antiviral proteins in humans, yet performs the opposite function while still being essential for protecting the animal from infection.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026

In 1925, Dr. Henry Souttar performs a successful heart operation on a young girl and saves her life.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Purists will be delighted by the inclusion of “Hit Me in the Head,” which Watts performed shortly before his death in 2021.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

With Argentina, England, France and Spain just two games from glory, we compare how the four semi-finalists have performed so far to get an idea of who could lift the World Cup this weekend.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

The team also found that the more the car sorting task was "offloaded" from the prefrontal cortex, the better participants performed a second task at the same time.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

The Rolling Stones’ frontman is still very much alive, despite having performed that song in concert hundreds of times since then, most recently in 2024 during the band’s “Hackney Diamonds” tour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

She performed forbidden aerial stunts over the airfield when she returned from a mission and got away with it.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

By performing repeated brain scans, the researchers tracked how the brain changed throughout the study.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

Can you name the best performing nation at World Cups for each letter of the alphabet?

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

“If you’re not performing, it makes the coaches think differently.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Robert Kavcic, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said a survey gauge of business activity still pointed to an economy that was performing below potential.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

This idea was taken up by Denis Papin, a medical doctor who had started his scientific career as an assistant to Huygens, performing air-pump experiments.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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