Meaning & use
performance
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Meanings
nouncountable
An occasion when someone acts, sings, plays music or dances in front of an audience.
Grammar: Counted: one performance, two performances; often followed by of or by.
Patterns
- a performance of something
- a performance by someone
- give a performance
The evening performance of the play sold out.
The choir gave a moving performance at the cathedral.
Her performance as the queen won an award.
noununcountable
How well or how badly a person, team, product or system does what is expected of it.
Grammar: Usually uncountable here: performance improved, not a performance.
Patterns
- performance at something
- performance in something
- the performance of something
The team's performance in the second half was much stronger.
Slow performance made the app frustrating to use.
Employees receive a review of their performance every year.
noununcountableformal
The act of carrying out a task, duty or action.
Grammar: Usually followed by of: the performance of a duty.
Patterns
- the performance of something
- in the performance of your duties
Officers are protected while in the performance of their duties.
The performance of the experiment took three days.
Careful performance of the exercise reduces the risk of injury.
Word forms
| plural | performances |
|---|
Common combinations
- give a performance
- The pianist gave a flawless performance.
- strong performance
- The company reported a strong performance this quarter.
- poor performance
- Poor performance led to the coach's dismissal.
- live performance
- Nothing beats a live performance of your favorite band.
- improve performance
- Drinking enough water can improve performance in sports.
- performance review
- My performance review is next Friday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- show
- Show is the casual word for entertainment put on for an audience, while performance can also mean how well something works.
- production
- Production refers to the whole staged work, including direction and design, while performance means one specific showing or an actor's work.
- efficiency
- Efficiency measures how little effort or waste is involved, while performance is a broader judgment of how well something does.
- execution
- Execution stresses the carrying out of a plan or skill, while performance can also mean an artistic show.
Opposites
Word family
- perform verb
- to do a task or to entertain an audience
- performer noun
- a person who entertains an audience
- performative adjective
- done for show or effect
- underperform verb
- to do less well than expected
Commonly confused: performance or performer?
performance vs performer
A performer is the person who gives a show, while a performance is the show or the way something functions.
Practice
The laptop's ____ dropped sharply after the update, so every program took longer to open.
Choose one answer.
Performance is the noun for how well a device works. Performer is a person, and the other forms are verb forms that do not fit after 'the laptop's'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “performance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.