benchmark
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
bench + mark. Originally (attested circa 1842) a mark cut into a stone by land surveyors to secure a "bench" (from 19th century land surveying jargon, meaning a type of bracket), to mount measuring equipment. Figurative sense attested circa 1884.[1]
[edit] Noun
benchmark (plural benchmarks)
- A standard by which something is evaluated or measured.
- A surveyor's mark made on some stationary object and shown on a map; used as a reference point.
[edit] Translations
a standard for evaluating or measuring
a surveyor's mark made on some stationary object and shown on a map
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[edit] Verb
benchmark (third-person singular simple present benchmarks, present participle benchmarking, simple past and past participle benchmarked)
- (transitive) To measure the performance of (an item) relative to another similar item in an impartial scientific manner.
