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:
Fedorov, 35, has been credited for using data to significantly improve the Ukrainian army performance on the front line and other innovations, including his successful Army of Drones initiative.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
T-Mobile just raised its cash-flow guidance for the year after what its CFO called a “rinse-and-repeat” quarter of positive performance.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Nonetheless, “Superteams” is a valuable guide for teams and managers seeking to improve performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The carrier added that its full-year performance depended on remaining bookings and fuel prices.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan said of Fischer’s performance that it put him “somewhere in the top ten in the world.”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
It boasts two great lead performances, and its shoestring budget makes the entire production all the more impressive.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
The drivers of these more optimistic growth assumptions were strong performances from the respective equity divisions but also promising signs from investment banking and wealth management.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Actors drive all the performances, and we use these tools to amplify the sets and the scope of the shows," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
She introduced “Cut Piece” by noting that in Ono’s six performances over a half-century, the last in 2003 in response to the Gulf War, anger had turned into something more gracious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Cody also was able to hold performances on Sundays and, being outside the fairgrounds, did not have to contribute half his revenue to the Exposition Company.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
