# performance

Pronunciation: US say "per-FOR-muhns" /pɚˈfɔɹ.məns/; UK say "puh-FAW-muhns" /pəˈfɔː.məns/

## Noun

1. How well a person, team, machine, or organization does a job or activity, judged by its results or efficiency.
   - Simple: How well someone or something does a job, a test, or another activity.
   - _The engine's performance dropped sharply at high altitude._
   - _Analysts praised the software for its performance under heavy load._
2. A presentation of a play, concert, dance, or other entertainment before an audience, usually live.
   - Simple: A show, like a concert or play, put on for people to watch, usually in person.
   - _The orchestra's evening performance featured three new compositions._
   - _Tickets for tonight's performance sold out within hours._
3. The carrying out of an action, task, or duty, or something done or accomplished, especially something notable.
   - Simple: The act of doing a job or task, or something that someone has done.
   - _The smooth performance of the ceremony required weeks of rehearsal._
   - _Faithful performance of the contract is required of both parties by law._
4. A job or procedure that takes far more fuss, trouble, or effort than it ought to. *(colloquial, UK)*
   - Simple: A job or activity that is much more trouble and work than it should be.
   - _Getting the council to approve a garden shed turned into a right performance._
   - _Mum makes such a performance of packing for a weekend away that we never leave on time._
5. The manner in which an actor brings a role to life, or a singer or musician interprets a piece, on stage, on screen, or on a recording.
   - Simple: The way an actor plays a character, or a singer or musician plays or sings a piece of music.
   - _Critics singled out his performance as a grieving father as the best thing in the film._
   - _The pianist's performance of the sonata on the new album is slower and more delicate than her earlier recording._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The actual use of language by speakers in concrete situations, distinct from the underlying knowledge of the language they possess (competence).

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English "parfourmaunce," and is equivalent to "perform" plus the suffix "-ance."

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