performance
Americannoun
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performances
plural
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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:
During a performance, Hankerson said he was concerned watching as his mom, who’s been performing for 75 years, fumbled through the set.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
“Today I am impressed by the overall performance of the economy, which appears to have strengthened,” he said, citing how well it has held up to shocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Rather than providing the usual textbook answer, he instead gave a colourfully uncomplimentary – and unprintable - description of his own first-half performance.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Dion appeared at the Eiffel Tower for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics that same year, with her show-stealing performance later becoming the subject of speculation about whether she had sung or lip-synched.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
“If only you had been there, Fredrick! You would have seen how wild and uncontrollable they were—why, they actually stormed the stage and attacked the pirates! They disrupted the performance completely.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
The announcement comes after recent performances raised alarm with fans and staff worried about the storied singer’s health.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Another victory would be the gelding’s seventh stakes win here, extending the record he set last month in the Eddie Read Stakes, which Koch and Fenton, in separate interviews, ranked among their favorite performances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Just before her death, she told People on 21 August she was exploring new ways of touring, and that her team was collaborating with companies that create "avatar performances", external given her recent health concerns.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Other musicians would then be able to sync their performances to her pre-recorded vocals, either by sampling or in a full arrangement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
They have finished with their performances for the evening, and the remaining hours before dawn are theirs to spend as they please.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
