performance
Americannoun
-
a musical, dramatic, or other entertainment presented before an audience.
-
the act of performing a ceremony, play, piece of music, etc.
-
the execution or accomplishment of work, acts, feats, etc.
-
a particular action, deed, or proceeding.
-
an action or proceeding of an unusual or spectacular kind.
His temper tantrum was quite a performance.
-
the act of performing.
-
the manner in which or the efficiency with which something reacts or fulfills its intended purpose.
-
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
-
the act, process, or art of performing
-
an artistic or dramatic production
last night's performance was terrible
-
manner or quality of functioning
a machine's performance
-
informal mode of conduct or behaviour, esp when distasteful or irregular
what did you mean by that performance at the restaurant?
-
informal any tiresome procedure
what a performance dressing the children to play in the snow!
-
any accomplishment
-
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
Etymology
Origin of performance
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.
Seyfried’s performance is, no exaggeration, one of the finest and most mesmerizing turns any actor has given across the thriller genre.
From Salon
A student at Paul McCartney's school for performance arts has become one of the first people to find a limited edition postcard promoting four new films about the Beatles.
From BBC
Such designs required careful planning, skilled workmanship, and an understanding of how tool performance could be improved by combining materials.
From Science Daily
Her performance against Rybakina - who was bidding for a second major title after her 2022 Wimbledon win - was far from disastrous.
From BBC
“AI is really pushing the envelope for performance and reliability,” Yang said, adding that some chip customers are planning around materials that haven’t even been invented yet.
From MarketWatch
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.
