Benchmark
//ˈbɛn(t)ʃmɑːk// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A standard by which something is evaluated or measured.
"Near-synonym: criterion"
- 2 a surveyor's mark on a permanent object of predetermined position and elevation used as a reference point wordnet
- 3 A surveyor's mark made on some stationary object and shown on a map; used as a reference point.
"Near-synonym: datum"
- 4 a standard by which something can be measured or judged wordnet
- 5 A computer program that is executed to assess the performance of the runtime environment.
Verb
- 1 To measure the performance or quality of (an item) relative to another similar item in an impartial scientific manner.; To give certain results in a benchmark test. intransitive, transitive
- 2 To measure the performance or quality of (an item) relative to another similar item in an impartial scientific manner.; To use something (e.g., a competitor's product) as a standard to improve one's own thing. ambitransitive, transitive
Example
More examples"The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark discount rate to an 18-year low."
Etymology
From bench + mark. First use appears c. 1842. Originally a mark cut into a stone by land surveyors to secure a bench (from land surveying jargon in the 19th century, meaning a type of bracket), to mount measuring equipment. The figurative sense first appears c. 1884.
Related phrases
More for "benchmark"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.