benchmark
/ˈbɛn(t)ʃmɑːk
/noun
1A standard or point of reference against which things may be compared: the pay settlement will set a benchmark for other employers and workers...
- The bidders for the women's prison all tendered below what the Government set as the benchmark for minimum standards - so the corporations were asked to up their bids.
- The baseline then serves as a benchmark for comparing the financial implications of alternative plans.
- The New Zealand Qualifications Authority, the agency that is meant to set the benchmark for standards in education, is saying that it is going to provide credits for picking up rubbish.
Synonyms
standard, point of reference, basis, gauge, criterion, specification, canon, convention, guide, guideline, guiding principle, norm, touchstone, yardstick, test, litmus test, barometer, indicator, measure, model, exemplar, classic example, pattern, paradigm, archetype, prototype, ideal
1.1A problem designed to evaluate the performance of a computer system: Xstones is a graphics benchmark...
- Our hard drives and optical drives are different between our new and old tests, but those won't affect 3D graphics performance benchmarks.
- The testing continued with the usual motherboard performance simulations and benchmarks.
- We've used the below noted system configuration for all benchmarks with all video cards.
2A surveyor’s mark cut in a wall, pillar, or building and used as a reference point in measuring altitudes.A benchmark is a survey mark made on a monument having a known location and elevation, serving as a reference point for surveying....
- The benchmark is a standard survey ordinance mark, a horizontal line about 500 millimetres long, and with a broad arrow just above it, under a small cliff on the northern face of the island.
verb [with object]
1Evaluate (something) by comparison with a standard: we are benchmarking our performance against external criteria...
- I haven't benchmarked the cables in comparison to a normal cable, because you wouldn't really use this kit as a long-term solution anywhere.
- These outlets were benchmarked to international standards of quality and quantity housekeeping, maintenance and customer service certified by the globally renowned agency Bureau Veritas.
- This ratio provides a method of standardizing data for benchmarking clinical indicators across health care agencies.
1.1 [no object, with adverbial] Give particular results during a benchmark test: the device should benchmark at between 100 and 150 MHz...
- It benchmarks at 0.6 DMIPS/MHz, and consumes as little as 18 µW/MHz.
- So it is not surprising that it benchmarks at more than twice the duration of the atomic counter.
- So far it benchmarks at about 10 times faster than this box I'm using.