# benchmark

Pronunciation: US say "BENCH-mahrk" /ˈbɛnt͡ʃmɑɹk/; UK say "BENCH-mahk" /ˈbɛn(t)ʃmɑːk/

## Noun

1. A standard or reference point against which something is measured or evaluated.
   - Simple: A fixed level or score used to judge how good something is.
   - _Investors treat the leading index as a benchmark for market performance._
   - _The committee adopted last year's figures as the benchmark for the new budget._
4. A program run to measure the performance of a computer system or its runtime environment.
   - Simple: A test program that checks how fast or how well a computer runs.
   - _The reviewer ran several benchmarks on the new graphics card._
   - _Each benchmark stresses a different part of the system._
6. A surveyor's mark cut into a fixed object and recorded on a map, serving as a known reference point for measurements.
   - Simple: A mark cut into a fixed object by surveyors, used as a known reference point on a map.
   - _Each benchmark along the railway line carries a recorded elevation._
   - _Surveyors tied their readings to a brass benchmark set in the courthouse wall._

## Verb

2. To measure the performance or quality of something against another similar item, using an impartial, scientific method.
   - Simple: To test how well something works or how good it is by comparing it fairly and scientifically with a similar thing.
   - _Independent labs benchmark each new graphics card against its closest rivals, running identical tests on every machine._
   - _The study benchmarked the hospital's surgical outcomes against those of five similar hospitals in the region._
3. To compare a product, process, or result against a competitor's or against a standard in order to improve it.
   - Simple: To compare your own work or product against another one to make it better.
   - _The firm benchmarked its delivery times against industry leaders._
   - _Managers regularly benchmark their teams' output against agreed targets._
5. To yield particular performance results when run through a benchmark test.
   - Simple: To get certain scores or results when measured by a benchmark test.
   - _The lab benchmarked record speeds on the new storage array._
   - _High-end chips benchmark faster than budget models._

## Origin

A compound of bench and mark, first used around 1842. It originally meant a mark cut into a stone by land surveyors to secure a bench (a type of bracket in 19th-century surveying jargon) for mounting measuring equipment. The figurative sense first appears around 1884.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/benchmark (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).