efficiency
Americannoun
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efficiencies
plural
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the state or quality of being efficient, or able to accomplish something with the least waste of time and effort; competency in performance.
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accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.
The assembly line increased industry's efficiency.
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the ratio of the work done or energy developed by a machine, engine, etc., to the energy supplied to it, usually expressed as a percentage.
noun
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the quality or state of being efficient; competence; effectiveness
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the ratio of the useful work done by a machine, engine, device, etc, to the energy supplied to it, often expressed as a percentage See also thermal efficiency
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The ratio of the energy delivered (or work done) by a machine to the energy needed (or work required) in operating the machine. The efficiency of any machine is always less than one due to forces such as friction that use up energy unproductively.
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See also mechanical advantage
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The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of efficiency
First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin efficientia, from efficient- (stem of efficiēns efficient ) + -ia -y 3
Explanation
Efficiency is avoiding a waste of time, effort, or resources. Many people have begun to use compact fluorescent light bulbs because of their greater energy efficiency. Nowadays, efficiency often refers to energy efficiency, the effort to get more energy from existing resources: making cars that can go farther with less fuel, or appliances that do the same work with less electricity. But this noun isn't restricted to an environmental context. Efficiency can also simply be a measurement of what goes into a thing versus what comes out of it. A process with high efficiency requires only a little work to produce big results.
Vocabulary lists containing efficiency
Word Generation Science - Energy
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"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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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.
See Examples For:
“The coffee shops I love, they take a long time. Blank Street has got the efficiency down.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The companies chase different types of consumers: Toyota appeals more to eco-conscious car buyers and those who prioritize reliability and efficiency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Greater efficiency is desirable, but it can’t bridge a reimbursement gap of this magnitude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Liverpool's use of AI tools to improve efficiency in children's social care will save about £150,000 by the end of the 2027-28 financial year.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
It was stark and unadorned in its construction in a way Cora had never seen before, as if to announce its efficiency in its very walls.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
The technique produced DNA assembly efficiencies two to five times higher than those achieved with conventional restriction enzyme methods.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
What he admits to be an “unscientific” extrapolation of corporate claims of AI-linked efficiencies shows businesses enjoying an average 150 basis points of margin improvement.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Chief Executive Kirk Perry said Kenvue continued to drive operational efficiencies and increase strategic investments, despite operating in a dynamic consumer and macroeconomic environment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
"We are working closely with our trade unions, colleagues and partners to identify the most effective and sustainable way to deliver the efficiencies required of us, while protecting the quality and safety of care."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Having absorbed Lawrence’s confidence that further efficiencies eventually would be achieved, Groves reduced the specification for Y-12 to five hundred tanks, or five racetracks.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
