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

We’ll also get a better sense of what the future might hold for Ohtani as a two-way player, and for his potential to perform at an elite level on both sides of the ball.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Microsoft sells applications and cloud services, giving it opportunities to design infrastructure around work its customers already perform.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

In effect, exercise helps muscles perform an important internal cleanup, making it easier for them to maintain healthy tissue and recover from damage.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

When she insists the machine can perform any medical test, Fielder finds himself drawn into an absurd debate over the meaning of the word “can.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Watched his mother perform a kind of ballet.

From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds

It needs an alternative that performs enough of its work reliably and economically to make shifting orders a realistic option.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

During sleep, the brain performs essential maintenance functions, including strengthening memories and removing waste products that accumulate during waking hours.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

“DJing’s not about playing wicked records. It’s about playing wicked records on a system,” said Sam Shepherd, who performs under the name Floating Points.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

His songs have sections that resemble verses, bridges and choruses, but they unfold in strange ways and seem inseparable from how he performs them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

He performs his chores as quickly as possible, packs an apple in his bag along with his book, and heads off to his tree.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Grynspan performed best on average in the first five rounds of informal polling, again coming top Friday -- despite the two vetoes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

This sleight of hand, Mr. Silvertown explains, was first performed by aquatic bacteria more than three billion years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Nearly all participants who completed the exercise test performed at or above the 90th percentile for their age when compared with reference populations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

Veterinary pathologists at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance performed the necropsy, Fish and Wildlife said in a joint statement with the wildlife alliance and the raptor center.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Only one woman, the Soviet pilot Yekaterina Zelenko, is known to have performed a successful taran attack.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Laboratory experiments confirmed that the newly discovered enzyme was capable of performing both types of chemical reactions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Sat by a sample of 15-year-olds – 3,406 in Wales in 2025, including some in Sarah Hopkins' school - it provides a snapshot of how education systems are performing.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

More than 6 in 10 voters said he was performing better than they expected.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

From Nickelodeon to having Rob Iler on your lap in “Bad Thoughts” performing an alien scat scene, your career truly is a wild ride.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Even before I turned pro, the media frequently interviewed me and so I was used to performing in front of cameras.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

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