efficiency

[ ih-fish-uhn-see ]

/ ɪˈfɪʃ ən si /

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See synonyms for: efficiency / efficiencies on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural ef·fi·cien·cies.

the state or quality of being efficient, or able to accomplish something with the least waste of time and effort; competency in performance.

accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort: The assembly line increased industry's efficiency.

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.

efficiency apartment.

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Origin of efficiency

1585–95; <Latin efficientia, equivalent to efficient- (see efficient) + -ia-y³

OTHER WORDS FROM efficiency

non·ef·fi·cien·cy, nounsu·per·ef·fi·cien·cy, noun, plural su·per·ef·fi·cien·cies.

Words nearby efficiency

effervescent, effete, efficacious, efficacity, efficacy, efficiency, efficiency apartment, efficiency expert, efficient, efficient cause, efficiently

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use efficiency in a sentence

With limited ad budgets, every dollar counts and efficiency is at a premium.
SMX is Coming to You in December 2020: Be a Part of it!|Kathy Bushman|September 17, 2020|Search Engine Land
Pitchers who lack mechanical efficiency are more reliant on the creation of power to throw hard.
Jacob DeGrom Just Keeps Throwing Faster|Travis Sawchik|September 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Automation shines with grouped efficiency and averages…not shared and thus manually managed data.
This decade’s most important marketing question: What data rights do advertisers possess?|Kirk Williams|September 17, 2020|Search Engine Land
There’s this layer of data and efficiency that we’ve experienced as we’ve figured this all out that I don’t think we can walk away from in the future.
‘Layer of data and efficiency’: How TechCrunch took Disrupt virtual — and grew for its tenth anniversary|Max Willens|September 11, 2020|Digiday

Since then the rise of e-commerce marketplaces has forced a major shift in the design of the consumer journey, designed to reduce friction and increase efficiency.
The race to frictionless consumer journeys is expanding beyond marketplaces|acuityads|September 10, 2020|Digiday
And increasingly smart navigation aids in the cockpit brought far greater precision and efficiency to route planning.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His stories were constructed with ruthless narrative efficiency.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?|Ted Gioia|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This was the most sophisticated global tracking system ever devised, and it worked with lethal efficiency.
How the NSA Became a Killing Machine|Shane Harris|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Second,” said Sen. Paul, “is the Milton Friedman efficiency argument.
My Coffee Klatch With Rand Paul|P. J. O’Rourke|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Efficiency may seem a pitiless term to use but it does have meaning.
Blood and War: The Hard Truth About ‘Boots on the Ground’|Clive Irving|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Can there be any comparison between the educational efficiency of the two methods?
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
An estimation of the solids, therefore, furnishes an important clue to the functional efficiency of the kidneys.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Is the college stage of our present educational system anywhere near its maximum possible efficiency?
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
In all business matters he required a rigid economy though never at the expense of efficiency.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
By the adoption of scientific principles Hope-Jones has multiplied the efficiency of Swell boxes tenfold.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller

British Dictionary definitions for efficiency

efficiency

/ (ɪˈfɪʃənsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

the quality or state of being efficient; competence; effectiveness

the ratio of the useful work done by a machine, engine, device, etc, to the energy supplied to it, often expressed as a percentageSee also thermal efficiency

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for efficiency

efficiency

[ ĭ-fĭsh′ən-sē ]

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. See also mechanical advantage.

The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system.

efficiency

Origin of efficiency

OTHER WORDS FROM efficiency

Words nearby efficiency

Words related to efficiency

How to use efficiency in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for efficiency

Scientific definitions for efficiency