performance

[per-fawr-muhns]

noun

1. a musical, dramatic, or other entertainment presented before an audience.

2. the act of performing a ceremony, play, piece of music, etc.

3. the execution or accomplishment of work, acts, feats, etc.

4. a particular action, deed, or proceeding.

5. an action or proceeding of an unusual or spectacular kind.

   His temper tantrum was quite a performance.

6. the act of performing.

7. the manner in which or the efficiency with which something reacts or fulfills its intended purpose.

8. Linguistics.,  the actual use of language in real situations, which may or may not fully reflect a speaker's competence, being subject to such nonlinguistic factors as inattention, distraction, memory lapses, fatigue, or emotional state.

performance

/ pəˈfɔːməns /

noun

1. the act, process, or art of performing

2. an artistic or dramatic production

   last night's performance was terrible

3. manner or quality of functioning

   a machine's performance

4. informal,  mode of conduct or behaviour, esp when distasteful or irregular

   what did you mean by that performance at the restaurant?

5. informal,  any tiresome procedure

   what a performance dressing the children to play in the snow!

6. any accomplishment

7. linguistics (in transformational grammar) the form of the human language faculty, viewed as concretely embodied in speakers Compare competence langue parole

Other Word Forms

• misperformance noun
• reperformance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of performance¹

First recorded in 1485–95; perform + -ance

Example Sentences

Hamilton said Ferrari's progress this season had been overlooked as they improved performance while remaining in pursuit of a first victory and Hamilton's first podium.

Read more on Barron's

For his rendition, Mr. Taylor won best male pop vocal performance.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These, too, are performances, and the more they embellish their fictional tales of war-torn Portland and bloodthirsty antifa marauders, the more comically visible the protesters grow.

Read more on Salon

The market includes China, where the business saw an acceleration despite analysts’ fears of a subdued performance.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While marches, protests and rallies form a major part of Pride around the world, live music and performances are put on to draw even bigger crowds.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• act 
• appearance 
• behavior 
• concert 
• dance 
• display 
• drama 
• opera 
• play 
• portrayal 
• presentation 
• production 
• show