underperform

American  

[uhn-der-per-fawrm] / ˌʌn dər pərˈfɔrm /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to perform less well than (another of its kind, a general average, etc.) or less well than expected.

   Surprisingly, the stock has underperformed the market indexes all year. Several of our best players consistently underperform.

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Other Word Forms

• underperformance
  noun

Etymology

Origin of underperform

under- + perform

Example Sentences

It found that buying the dip isn’t always lucrative and that the strategy sometimes suffers huge drawdowns that significantly underperform a buy-and-hold portfolio.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026

But that’s exactly why they proceed to underperform the market, on average, over the three years subsequent to their offering-day closing prices.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

Typically, self-funded campaigns underperform compared to more traditional campaigns, in part because donors are engaged voters and raising money activates their networks as well, Blank said.

From Salon • May 23, 2026

IPOs tend to underperform the market, with a not-insignificant share of those stocks delivering negative returns.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

They would bet, for instance, that bonds with large numbers of loans made in California would underperform bonds with very little of California in them.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis