Benchmark

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark discount rate to an 18-year low.

Without a good benchmark, it's hard to tell which software is faster.

Its performance on the benchmark test suite shows that this is one of the fastest computer processors in existence.

Britain’s benchmark FTSE index was up 1.7%. The CAC-40 in France climbed 2.3% and Germany’s DAX index was up just over one percent.

For the moment, the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate near zero, a widely watched standard that influences the interest rates that consumers pay to borrow money to buy such big-ticket items as cars, and businesses pay to expand their operations or buy machinery.

The international marketing information firm JD Power and Associates has published its 2003 Vehicle Dependability Study, considered by many a benchmark for long-term vehicle quality and reliability in the auto industry.

Some Westerners perceive their cultural values, institutions, and systems as inherently superior and view them as a benchmark for progress and development.

The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate seven times last year in an effort to slow job growth and increase the cost of borrowing for businesses and consumers alike, on the presumption that the higher loan costs would bring down inflation.

A benchmark is a test used to evaluate and compare the performance of one software with that of other software.

Near-synonym: criterion