ˌek.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən ˌɒpəˈɹeɪʃən ˌɑpəˈɹeɪʃən pəɹ.ˈfɔɹ.məns any recognized accomplishment they admired his performance under stress when Roger Maris powered four home runs in one game, his performance merits awe the act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it they criticized his performance as mayor experience generally improves performance the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment we congratulated him on his performance at the rehearsal an inspired performance of Mozart's C minor concerto a dramatic or musical entertainment they listened to ten different performances the play ran for 100 performances the frequent performances of the symphony testify to its popularity process or manner of functioning or operating the power of its engine determines its operation the plane's operation in high winds they compared the cooking performance of each oven the jet's performance conformed to high standards