Definition of “performance” - English Dictionary

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“performance” in English

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performancenoun

uk ​ /pəˈfɔː.məns/ us ​ /pɚˈfɔːr.məns/

performance noun (ACTIVITY)

B2 [ C or U ] how well a person, machine, etc. does a piece of work or an activity:

Some athletes take drugs to improve their performance.
High-performance cars (= those that are fast, powerful, and easy to control) are the most expensive.
This was a very impressive performance by the young player, who scored 14 points within the first ten minutes.

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performance noun (ENTERTAINMENT)

B1 [ C ] the action of entertaining other people by dancing, singing, acting, or playing music:

a performance of Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible"
She gave a superb performance as Lady Macbeth.
a performance mainly UK informal

› an action or type of behaviour that involves a lot of attention to detail or to small matters that are not important:

Cleaning the oven is such a performance.
What a performance! Please stop shouting!
a repeat performance

› an occasion when an event or a situation happens again:

The police hope to avoid a repeat performance of last year, when the festivities turned into rioting.

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(Definition of “performance” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“performance” in American English

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performancenoun

us ​ /pərˈfɔr·məns/

performance noun (DOING)

› [ U ] the act of doing something, such as your job:

If the accident happened during the performance of his regular duties, he’s covered by disability insurance.

› [ U ] Performance also refers to how well an activity or job is done:

With a record of 2 wins and 3 defeats, the team’s performance has been disappointing.

(Definition of “performance” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“performance” in Business English

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performancenoun

uk ​ /pəˈfɔːməns/ us ​

› [ C or U ] how successful an investment, company, etc. is and how much profit it makes:

The Fund's past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
good/solid/strong performance Last year saw a strong performance from the high-street retailer.
bad/disappointing/poor performance The retailer said it would restructure operations to cut costs after its disappointing performance of the past year.
business/economic/financial performance Financial performance was below expectations and we are working on improvements.
boost/improve/measure performance The board is under pressure to improve performance following a profits warning in January.
The business value model should include high-level performance measures such as profitability, market growth, etc.
operating/trading performance

› [ U ] IT how well a computer, machine, etc. works:

The latest Intel-based notebooks rival PC performance.

› [ U ] how well someone does their job or their duties:

good/impressive/poor perfomance He was fired for poor performance.
John's departure is not directly related to his performance.

› formal LAW the act of doing what is stated in a legal agreement:

Subject to due performance of its obligations, each Party shall be entitled to receive copies of all results.

See also

high-performance
specific performance

(Definition of “performance” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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