underperform

American  

[uhn-der-per-fawrm] / ˌʌn dər pərˈfɔrm /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to perform less well than (another of its kind, a general average, etc.) or less well than expected.

   Surprisingly, the stock has underperformed the market indexes all year. Several of our best players consistently underperform.

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Other Word Forms

• underperformance
  noun

Etymology

Origin of underperform

under- + perform

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

underperform

They continue to underperform because they reward teacher seniority over competence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Improving investor sentiment around Tesla stemming from the merger speculation might be overly optimistic, they say, maintaining their underperform rating and $280 price target.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

If employers are lax in their oversight, workers might find themselves overpaying to invest in funds that underperform.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

A separate matched-pair study covering 2007 to 2015 concluded that faith-based funds do not systematically underperform comparable secular funds.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

They would bet, for instance, that bonds with large numbers of loans made in California would underperform bonds with very little of California in them.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis