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:
Government officials says the plan would "make bills fairer and more affordable while encouraging greater water efficiency".
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The findings suggest that the body gradually gives up some movement efficiency in favor of staying stable and upright.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
On top of that, the cultural obsession with efficiency doesn’t align with a diet that views cooking as a nourishing daily ritual.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
One project that comes in for particular criticism is the costly free school meals programme, Prabowo's signature project which he vowed Friday to pursue "but with improvements and efficiency."
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 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
This is due to funds under management rolling out of gestation and becoming fee earning, as well as organic net inflows and operational efficiencies, BofA says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
A spokesperson said the trust had "a responsibility to live within its means" and was working to deliver the required efficiencies while "protecting the quality and safety of care".
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
“We are driving efficiencies across the business, actively investing in and hiring for AI-focused skills, and managing headcount with discipline to end 2026 where we started.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Unsurprisingly, both Larry and David Ellison are big fans of artificial intelligence, seeing it as a way to streamline their surveillance operations, and for what David Ellison euphemistically calls “cost efficiencies and synergies.”
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 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.
