specific performance

American  

noun

Law.

1. (especially in the sale of land) literal compliance with one's contractual promises pursuant to a judicial mandate.

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specific performance British  

noun

1. law a remedy awarded by a court requiring a person to fulfil obligations under a contract where damages are an insufficient remedy

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Etymology

Origin of specific performance

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Rather than targeting raw qubit count, the company has shifted its focus to fidelity-driven scaling, ensuring its hardware reaches specific performance benchmarks before increasing system size.

From Barron's • May 11, 2026

A seller who tries to walk away may face a different prospect—a suit for specific performance, where the court is asked to force the sale of the property to the buyer, Goldstein said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026

The judge said specific performance could be available in a situation involving an actual breach or an anticipatory breach of the contract.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2025

The two men obviously came into the debate with some very specific performance strategies and they both did what they needed to do.

From Salon • Oct. 2, 2024

Twelfth.—The rights of the city to be enforceable by action, for specific performance, or mandamus, or otherwise.

From Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910 The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Paper No. 1150 by Raymond, Charles W.