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.

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Vocabulary lists containing perform

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

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

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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I

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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:

perform performs performed performing

Children who accumulated more screen exposure across childhood also tended to perform less well academically.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

And while the option of an extension cannot be completely discounted, it seems inconceivable that Mateta would perform a U-turn now given the lengths he has gone to to prove his current one is invalid.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Buying from the manufacturer or a carrier should cover you, but you can perform a factory reset on the iPhone or Android device if you want to purge lingering apps and data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

The settlement affirmed that immigrants who perform work while detained are considered employees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Other smaller specialist groups existed, in which boys learned how to signal in Morse code, operate antiaircraft weaponry, provide first aid and practical field medicine, perform air-raid warden duties, and handle other weapons.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Now, though, she can tailor her jobs to what performs well on social media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Jake Slaughter performs well in his first audition for the Chargers’ starting left-tackle role and the Mike McDaniel-guided running game puts on a show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

He is said to be waiting to see how the new Honda performs before deciding whether to stay in F1 with Aston Martin next year.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Thatcher performs as if this was the part she was born for, and it very well may be.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

"Show us how a real champ performs the Heimlich maneuver."

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Tom performed histological and vision-specific analyses of the eye tissue.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Elsewhere at the event in Beijing, a robot performed Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic 'Siuuu' celebration on the football pitch and droids took part in synchronised marching at its opening ceremony.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

It is expected to provide valuable information to the company’s engineers, giving them a chance to review in detail how its heat shield performed during re-entry from space.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Maurice “Moe” Mitchell, vocalist for hardcore band Cipher and national director of the Working Families Party, was featured in the documentary and performed at several Afropunk shows and festivals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

That I moved and performed like her, too.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

His opponent responds by juggling his outstretched palms in a "6-7," a viral youth meme that has no fixed meaning but has become so ubiquitous that even Pope Leo has taken to performing it.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

The other strongly performing parts of Northern Ireland farming in 2025 were dairy and egg production.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

She said the company strives to have a strong maintenance and inspection program and still was performing post-fire examinations and testing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Videos showing riders performing stunts, weaving through traffic and travelling at speed can attract hundreds of thousands of views.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The Executive Order prohibits U.S. persons from performing any contract in support of a commercial project in Yugoslavia, as well as from exporting services to Yugoslavia.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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