perform
Other forms: performed; performing; performs
To perform most often means to sing, dance act or put on any kind of show. Perform also means, however, to carry out almost any function or action — to do something, in other words.
Parents love to watch their kids perform. Nothing delights mommy or daddy more than watching junior sing or dance in the school play. Later in life, though, they'll be happy when their kids perform acts of kindness or when they perform the duties required of them by their jobs. "The surgeon entertained the other doctors when he performed an aria from Rigoletto while he performed an appendectomy." Now that's impressive.
Definitions of perform
-
get (something) done
-
synonyms:
do
-
types:
- show 6 types...
- hide 6 types...
-
overachieve
perform better or achieve a greater degree of success than expected
-
turn
accomplish by rotating
-
underachieve, underperform
perform less well or with less success than expected
-
misdo
do wrongly or improperly
-
do one's best, give full measure, give one's best, go all out
perform a task as well as possible
-
ply
apply oneself diligently
-
type of:
-
accomplish, action, carry out, carry through, execute, fulfil, fulfill
put in effect
-
carry out or perform an action
-
types:
- show 27 types...
- hide 27 types...
-
click off
perform or finish an action rapidly
-
carry
sing or play against other voices or parts
-
pipe up
begin to play or sing
-
declaim, recite
recite in elocution
-
serenade
sing and play for somebody
-
cut corners
do something the cheapest or easiest way
-
stunt
perform a stunt or stunts
-
cut
perform or carry out
-
blaze away
perform (an acting passage) brilliantly and rapidly
-
scamp
perform hastily and carelessly
-
churn out
perform in a mechanical way
-
premier, premiere
perform a work for the first time
-
star
be the star in a performance
-
appear
appear as a character on stage or appear in a play, etc.
-
practice, practise, rehearse
engage in a rehearsal (of)
-
ad-lib, extemporise, extemporize, improvise, improvize
perform without preparation
-
interpret, render
give an interpretation or rendition of
-
conduct, direct, lead
lead, as in the performance of a composition
-
make
perform or carry out
-
elocute
declaim in an elocutionary manner
-
perorate
deliver an oration in grandiloquent style
-
scan
read metrically
-
co-star
be the co-star in a performance
-
walk through
perform in a perfunctory way, as for a first rehearsal
-
scrimmage
practice playing (a sport)
-
sing
deliver by singing
-
pay
render
-
perform a function“Who will perform the wedding?”
-
give a performance (of something)“Horowitz is performing at Carnegie Hall tonight”“We performed a popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera”
-
types:
- show 30 types...
- hide 30 types...
-
barnstorm
tour the country making political speeches, giving lectures, or presenting plays
-
barnstorm
appear at county fairs and carnivals as a stunt flier and parachute jumper
-
interlude
perform an interlude
-
grandstand
perform ostentatiously in order to impress the audience and with an eye to the applause
-
solo
perform a piece written for a single instrument
-
play out
perform or be performed to the end
-
underperform
perform too rarely
-
sight-read, sightread
perform music from a score without having seen the score before
-
rap
perform rap music
-
give
perform for an audience
-
concertise, concertize
give concerts; perform in concerts
-
play
perform on a certain location
-
debut
make one's debut
-
audition, try out
perform in order to get a role
-
act, play, playact, roleplay
perform on a stage or theater
-
play
play on an instrument
-
conduct
lead musicians in the performance of
-
sound off, strike up
start playing
-
sight-sing, sightsing
sing from a score without having seen it before
-
read
audition for a stage role by reading parts of a role
-
stooge
act as the stooge
-
mime, pantomime
act out without words but with gestures and bodily movements only
-
swing
play with a subtle and intuitively felt sense of rhythm
-
symphonise, symphonize
play or sound together, in harmony
-
accompany, follow, play along
perform an accompaniment to
-
bow
play on a string instrument with a bow
-
ham, ham it up, overact, overplay
exaggerate one's acting
-
underact, underplay
act (a role) with great restraint
-
busk
play music in a public place and solicit money for it
-
jam
play music with a group informally or in an improvised way
-
type of:
-
re-create
create anew
Pronunciation
US
/pərˈfɔərm/
UK
/pəˈfɔm/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘perform'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Look up perform for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
