performance
Americannoun
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a musical, dramatic, or other entertainment presented before an audience.
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the act of performing a ceremony, play, piece of music, etc.
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the execution or accomplishment of work, acts, feats, etc.
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a particular action, deed, or proceeding.
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an action or proceeding of an unusual or spectacular kind.
His temper tantrum was quite a performance.
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the act of performing.
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the manner in which or the efficiency with which something reacts or fulfills its intended purpose.
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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.
noun
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the act, process, or art of performing
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an artistic or dramatic production
last night's performance was terrible
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manner or quality of functioning
a machine's performance
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informal mode of conduct or behaviour, esp when distasteful or irregular
what did you mean by that performance at the restaurant?
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informal any tiresome procedure
what a performance dressing the children to play in the snow!
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any accomplishment
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linguistics (in transformational grammar) the form of the human language faculty, viewed as concretely embodied in speakers Compare competence langue parole
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of performance
Explanation
Performance has to do with doing something: a concert or play is a performance, and if you want to talk about how well the actors did, you'd rate their performance. The main sense of performance is artsy: actors and musicians (and other performers) give performances. You could praise an actor's performance in a movie, but this word extends to other kinds of work and accomplishments as well. If you're failing math, your performance is below par. An athlete can get in trouble for taking performance-enhancing drugs: drugs that make their performance better. Anytime you're talking about how something or someone works — or performs — you're talking about performance.
Vocabulary lists containing performance
Academy Awards, List 6
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myPerspectives 8.3
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 6
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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:
Ritter noted in an email that a decline over the first six months after an IPO is a mildly bearish indicator of the stock’s likely performance over the next six months.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
“That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
As always the FA will review England's performance at the tournament once they return home after Saturday's bronze medal match against France.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
SpaceX’s post-IPO performance is trailing among this year’s top 10 blockbuster debuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Aunt Kitty may have heard enough, but my ears never tired of listening to Mr. Pinkerton and Detective Webster compliment my performance.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Despite its fine leading performances, this time-hopping play by Benedict Lombe struggles to build momentum as it follows the ambivalent attraction between two characters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
But if those age-defying performances were outliers, playing into your mid-40s and even early 50s may soon become, if not common, at least less unusual.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Previous research has linked cultural activities, such as going to the movies, museums, and live performances, with better health and well-being in older adults.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
England have produced moments of brilliance in this tournament without putting together consistently dazzling performances.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
We had the voices perfected and the theme song choreographed, and we used to do these performances on the ledge in front of the fireplace.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
