perform
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 14
- Words With Friends
- 16
- Letters
- 7
See all 5 pronunciations Show less
Definition of perform
9 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included
verb
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(transitive)To do (something); to execute.
“The scientists performed several experiments.”
“It took him only twenty minutes to perform the task.”
“Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.”
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verb
-
(transitive)To do (something); to execute.
“The scientists performed several experiments.”
“It took him only twenty minutes to perform the task.”
“Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.”
-
(intransitive)To exhibit an expected pattern of behavior; to function; to work.
“The new employee performs well.”
“I could care less how she perform when she in the bed”
- (intransitive, uncommon)To exhibit an expected pattern of behavior; to function; to work.
-
(transitive)To act in a way set forth in a contract.
“Failure to perform a contract on time may constitute a breach of contract.”
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(intransitive)To act in a way set forth in a contract.
“They entered into an agreement and now they are obliged to perform.”
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(ambitransitive)To do (something) in front of an audience, such as acting or music, often in order to entertain.
“She will perform in the play.”
“The magician performed badly—none of his tricks worked.”
“The string quartet performed three pieces by Haydn.”
“Perform a part thou hast not done before.”
-
(broadly, transitive)To behave theatrically so as to give the impression of (a quality, character trait, etc.); to feign.
“The accused only performed remorse.”
“As things now stand, Brexit is a pointless gesture, a politics of headlines in which sovereignty is performed by bleating world-beating absurdities.”
-
(transitive)Of a social actor, to behave in certain ways.
“perform masculinity”
“perform authority”
“Even before her seven decades as monarch began, she performed Britishness more intuitively than anyone ever had, or likely ever will again.”
-
(intransitive)Of a social actor, to behave in certain ways.
“Individuals in societies perform all the time.”
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
From Middle English parformen, performen (“to perform”), from Anglo-Norman performer, parfourmer, alteration of Old French parfornir, parfurnir (“to complete, accomplish, perform”), from par- + fornir, furnir (“to accomplish, furnish”), from…
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From Middle English parformen, performen (“to perform”), from Anglo-Norman performer, parfourmer, alteration of Old French parfornir, parfurnir (“to complete, accomplish, perform”), from par- + fornir, furnir (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Frankish *frummjan (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Proto-Germanic *frumjaną, *framjaną (“to further, promote”), from Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“in front, forth”), *per- (“forward, out”). Cognate with Old High German frummen (“to do, execute, accomplish, provide”), Old Saxon frummian (“to perform, promote”), Old English fremman (“to perform, execute, carry out, accomplish”). See also frame, from. Modernly, rather than Proto-Germanic *frumjaną, associated with Latin formō, analyzable as per- + form.
Words you can make from perform
61 playable · top: PREFORM (14 pts)
Best play preform 14 points6-letter words
3 words5-letter words
7 words4-letter words
16 words3-letter words
20 words2-letter words
14 wordsHooks
1 extension · 1 back
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