efficiency
Americannoun
plural
efficiencies-
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
- nonefficiency noun
- superefficiency noun
Etymology
Origin of efficiency
First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin efficientia, from efficient- (stem of efficiēns efficient ) + -ia -y 3
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.
The rapid adoption of AI agents in China is also reshaping the competition landscape, shifting business value toward platforms and developers with global competitiveness, strong reasoning capabilities, cost efficiency, and scalable developer ecosystems.
From Barron's
"Second, the car industry went through a major transformation. The amount of oil we use for driving 100 kilometres is halved because of the efficiency improvement in cars, the fuel efficiency."
From BBC
The efficiencies it can generate are immensely seductive for corporate bosses, while the benefits it can bring to higher education have college presidents enthralled.
From Barron's
It is giving priority to investments in network optimization and efficiency, including fleet and facility modernization and automation, it said.
Instead, the efficiency of credit at generating economic growth may be declining even as the pace of credit creation slows.
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.
