Adjacent Words

Perform definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PERFORM', v.t. [L. per and formo, to make.]
1. To do; to execute; to accomplish; as, to perform two days' labor in one day; to perform a noble deed or achievement.
2. To execute; to discharge; as, to perform a duty or office.
3. To fulfill; as, to perform a covenant, promise or contract; to perform a vow.
PERFORM', v.i. To do; to act a part. The player performs well in different characters. The musician performs well on the organ.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: carry out or perform an action; "John did the painting, the weeding, and he cleaned out the gutters"; "the skater executed a triple pirouette"; "she did a little dance" [syn: perform, execute, do]
2: perform a function; "Who will perform the wedding?"
3: give a performance (of something); "Horowitz is performing at Carnegie Hall tonight"; "We performed a popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera"
4: get (something) done; "I did my job" [syn: do, perform]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French parfurmer, alteration of perforner, parfurnir, from par-, per- thoroughly (from Latin per-) + furnir to complete — more at furnish Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to adhere to the terms of ; fulfill <perform a contract> 2. carry out, do 3. a. to do in a formal manner or according to prescribed ritual b. to give a rendition of ; present intransitive verb 1. to carry out an action or pattern of behavior ; act, function 2. to give a performance ; play • performability noun • performable adjective • performer noun Synonyms: perform, execute, discharge, accomplish, achieve, effect, fulfill mean to carry out or into effect. perform implies action that follows established patterns or procedures or fulfills agreed-upon requirements and often connotes special skill <performed gymnastics>. execute stresses the carrying out of what exists in plan or in intent <executed the hit-and-run>. discharge implies execution and completion of appointed duties or tasks <discharged his duties>. accomplish stresses the successful completion of a process rather than the means of carrying it out <accomplished everything they set out to do>. achieve adds to accomplish the implication of conquered difficulties <achieve greatness>. effect adds to achieve an emphasis on the inherent force in the agent capable of surmounting obstacles <effected sweeping reforms>. fulfill implies a complete realization of ends or possibilities <fulfilled their ambitions>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. (also absol.) carry into effect; be the agent of; do (a command, promise, task, etc.). 2 tr. (also absol.) go through, execute (a public function, play, piece of music, etc.). 3 intr. act in a play; play music, sing, etc. (likes performing). 4 intr. (of a trained animal) execute tricks etc. at a public show. Derivatives: performable adj. performability n. performatory adj. & n. (pl. -ies). performer n. performing adj. Etymology: ME f. AF parfourmer f. OF parfournir (assim. to forme FORM) f. par PER- + fournir FURNISH

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Perform Per*form", v. i. To do, execute, or accomplish something; to acquit one's self in any business; esp., to represent sometimes by action; to act a part; to play on a musical instrument; as, the players perform poorly; the musician performs on the organ.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Perform Per*form", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Performed; p. pr. & vb. n. Performing.] [OE. performen, parfourmen, parfournen, OF. parfornir, parfournir, to finish, complete; OF. & F. par (see Par) + fournir to finish, complete. The word has been influenced by form; cf. L. performare to form thoroughly. See Furnish.] 1. To carry through; to bring to completion; to achieve; to accomplish; to execute; to do. I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for me. --Ps. lvii. 2. Great force to perform what they did attempt. --Sir P. Sidney. 2. To discharge; to fulfill; to act up to; as, to perform a duty; to perform a promise or a vow. To perform your father's will. --Shak. 3. To represent; to act; to play; as in drama. Perform a part thou hast not done before. --Shak. Syn: To accomplish; do; act; transact; achieve; execute; discharge; fulfill; effect; complete; consummate. See Accomplish.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(performs, performing, performed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. When you perform a task or action, especially a complicated one, you do it. His council had had to perform miracles on a tiny budget... Several grafts may be performed at one operation. VERB: V n, V n 2. If something performs a particular function, it has that function. A complex engine has many separate components, each performing a different function. VERB: V n 3. If you perform a play, a piece of music, or a dance, you do it in front of an audience. Gardiner has pursued relentlessly high standards in performing classical music... This play was first performed in 411 BC... He began performing in the early fifties, singing and playing guitar. VERB: V n, V n, V 4. If someone or something performs well, they work well or achieve a good result. If they perform badly, they work badly or achieve a poor result. He had not performed well in his exams... 'State-owned industries will always perform poorly,' John Moore informed readers... VERB: V adv, V adv

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

per-form' (Fr. parfournir, "to furnish completely," "to complete" "finish entirely"): In modern English, through a mistaken connection with "form," "perform" usually suggests an act in its continuity, while the word properly should emphasize only the completion of the act. the King James Version seems to have used the word in order to convey the proper sense (compare Ro 15:28; 2Co 8:11; Php 1:6, where the Revised Version (British and American) has respectively "accomplish," "complete," "perfect"), but usually with so little justification in the Hebrew or Greek that "do" would have represented the original even better. the Revised Version (British and American) has rarely changed the word in the Old Testament, and such changes as have been made (De 23:23; Es 1:15, etc.) seem based on no particular principle. In the New Testament the word has been kept only in Mt 5:33 and Ro 4:21, but in neither verse does the Greek accent the completion of the act, in the former case apodidomi, literally, "to give back," in the latter poieo, "to make," "to do," being used.

Performance is found in the King James Version Sirach 19:20 (the Revised Version (British and American) "doing"); 2 Macc 11:17 (inserted needlessly and omitted by the Revised Version (British and American)); Lu 1:45 (the Revised Version (British and American) "fulfilment"); 2Co 8:11 (the Revised Version (British and American) "completion").

Burton Scott Easton

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Do, execute, effect, accomplish, achieve, compass, bring about, bring to pass, work out, transact. 2. Observe, fulfil, meet, discharge, satisfy, complete, adhere to, be faithful to, comply with, act up to, execute. 3. Act, represent, play, sustain a part, support a character. 4. Play, execute.

Moby Thesaurus

accompany, accomplish, achieve, act, act a part, act as, act as foil, act out, affect, ape, appear, attain, barnstorm, be effective, be in action, be productive, behave, betoken, brandish, breathe, bring about, bring forth, bring forward, bring into being, bring into view, bring off, bring out, bring to fruition, bring to notice, carry into execution, carry on, carry out, carry through, carry to completion, cause, chord, come out, compass, complete, concertize, conduct, consummate, cope with, copy, dangle, deal with, demonstrate, depict, develop, discharge, disclose, discourse, dispatch, display, dispose of, divulge, do, do duty, do the job, do the trick, do up brown, dramatize, effect, effectuate, embody, emote, emotionalize, enact, end, engineer, evidence, evince, execute, exhibit, expose to view, express, fetch, finish, flaunt, flourish, fulfill, function, get top billing, give sign, give token, go, handle, have effect, have free play, have play, highlight, illuminate, impersonate, implement, incarnate, indicate, industrialize, interpret, knock off, make, make clear, make music, make plain, manage, manifest, masquerade as, mass-produce, materialize, mean, militate, mime, mimic, mount, officiate, operate, overproduce, pantomime, parade, pass for, patter, percolate, perform as, perk, personate, play, play a part, play by ear, play the lead, playact, polish off, pose as, practice, present, pretend to be, produce, pull off, put away, put on, react, realize, register, render, represent, respond, reveal, roll out, run, serve, set forth, show, show forth, sketch, spotlight, stage, star, steal the show, stooge, succeed, symphonize, take, take care of, take effect, take off, tick, token, transact, tread the boards, trot out, troupe, turn the trick, unfold, upstage, volume-produce, wave, wind up, work, work out