benchmark

noun

1. A standard by which something is evaluated or measured.

   “Near-synonym: criterion”

   “Is the pope Catholic? Forgive the posing of a question that is usually rhetorical, the absolute benchmark of certainty, and traditionally regarded as even more settled than the one pertaining to the lavatorial arrangements of bears.”

   “In a press release, CARB expanded on their decision. "The LCFS reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by setting a declining carbon intensity target for transportation fuels used in California; producers that don't meet established benchmarks buy credits from those that do. This system has generated $4 billion in annual private sector investment toward a cleaner transportation sector."”

2. A surveyor's mark made on some stationary object and shown on a map; used as a reference point.

   “Near-synonym: datum”

3. A computer program that is executed to assess the performance of the runtime environment.

verb

1. (intransitive, transitive)To measure the performance or quality of (an item) relative to another similar item in an impartial scientific manner.
2. (ambitransitive, transitive)To measure the performance or quality of (an item) relative to another similar item in an impartial scientific manner.