Synonyms

perform

American

[per-fawrm] / pərˈfɔrm /

verb (used with object)

to carry out; execute; do.

to perform miracles.
to go through or execute in the proper, customary, or established manner.

to perform the marriage ceremony.
to carry into effect; fulfill.

Perform what you promise.

Synonyms:

effect, achieve, accomplish
to enact (a play, part, etc.), as on the stage, in movies, or on television.
to render (music), as by playing or singing.
to accomplish (any action involving skill or ability), as before an audience.

to perform a juggling act.
to complete.
to exhibit behaviors associated with (a particular social role or identity).

This study investigates the ways in which biracial Americans perform race in their day-to-day lives.
to behave in ways that exhibit (a socially acceptable belief, trait, or quality), often merely for show.

Nineteenth-century British women found in the antislavery movement a perfect way to perform empathy.

verb (used without object)

to fulfill a command, promise, or undertaking.
to execute or do something.
to act in a play.

to perform in the role of Romeo.
to perform music.
to go through any performance.
(of loans, investments, etc.) to yield a profit; earn income.
to have sexual intercourse.

I could not perform in my first intimate encounter with the love of my life.

perform British

/ pəˈfɔːm /

verb

to carry out or do (an action)
(tr) to fulfil or comply with

to perform someone's request
to present or enact (a play, concert, etc) before or otherwise entertain an audience

the group performed Hamlet
informal (intr) to accomplish sexual intercourse

he performed well

"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

Synonym Usage

Perform, discharge, execute, transact mean to carry to completion a prescribed course of action. Perform is the general word, often applied to ordinary activity as a more formal expression than do, but usually implying regular, methodical, or prolonged application or work: to perform an exacting task. Discharge implies carrying out an obligation, often a formal or legal one: to discharge one's duties as a citizen. Execute means either to carry out an order or to carry through a plan or program: to execute a maneuver. Transact, meaning to conduct or manage, has commercial connotations: to transact business.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of perform

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English parformen, from Anglo-French parformer, alteration (by association with forme form ) of Middle French, Old French parfournir “to accomplish”; see per-, furnish

Explanation

To perform most often means to sing, dance act or put on any kind of show. Perform also means, however, to carry out almost any function or action — to do something, in other words. Parents love to watch their kids perform. Nothing delights mommy or daddy more than watching junior sing or dance in the school play. Later in life, though, they'll be happy when their kids perform acts of kindness or when they perform the duties required of them by their jobs. "The surgeon entertained the other doctors when he performed an aria from Rigoletto while he performed an appendectomy." Now that's impressive.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing perform

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

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:

perform performs performed performing

So, Kemi Badenoch will tread the same stage ageing rockers Marillion took last month - and where sequinned soprano Katherine Jenkins will perform next week.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Without this essential record of why an AI did what it did, we could become blind to the drivers of AIs’ attempts to hack, cheat and perform other malicious acts, researchers say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

“We can’t really perform in a vacuum,” San Cha said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The period coincided with major advances in AI, particularly future Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton's work showing that bigger models perform better.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

He wasn’t inconsolable; he was sick with forbidden magic and unable to perform all the Uncle’s duties because he wasn’t as strong as him.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

“The vacuum cleaner that performs like a jet engine,” Allemann said, “and sells at five times the category price.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

The AI system - which performs tasks like browsing the web and using apps by itself - "didn't quite meet the bar" of the company's standards, Saachi Jain, head of safety systems at OpenAI, said.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Muse is meant as something different: a robot that performs tasks for you across the internet.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

Researchers in Tristan Wagner's laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen wanted to understand how this organism performs nitrogen fixation under such extreme conditions.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

The boy is happy and performs very well in school.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

For older players, Tommy John surgery—a ligament repair and reconstruction named for the major league pitcher it was first performed on and widespread among pros—is on the rise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Two years later, he performed it before 30,000 people on a beach in Karnataka.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Banerjee's lab is now trying to take the findings a step further by engineering RNA droplets that can carry out some of the basic activities performed by cells, including biochemical reactions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

In 2006, she memorably performed as a kids’ birthday party entertainer—and bombed.

From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026

Marcie said, smiling wide, extending her arms as if she’d performed a magic trick.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

In his 30s, he has largely left performing behind.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

For example, performing 20 to 25 repetitions with a lighter weight can produce similar improvements to lifting a heavier weight ten times, provided the effort is high.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Khan, one of India's best-known magicians, comes from the Madari community, which has a long tradition of performing in public spaces.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

To that end, Iñárritu wanted to transform the famously fit Cruise, who is still known for performing death defying stunts into his 60s, into “somebody that can be your uncle.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

I had a hard time making up my mind about performing in front of a crowd.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023