Etymology From bench + mark. First use appears c. 1842. Originally a mark cut into a stone by land surveyors to secure a bench (from land surveying jargon in the 19th century, meaning a type of bracket), to mount measuring equipment. The figurative sense first appears c. 1884.
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A standard by which something is evaluated or measured.
Near-synonym: criterion
Is the pope Catholic? Forgive the posing of a question that is usually rhetorical, the absolute benchmark of certainty, and traditionally regarded as even more settled than the one pertaining to the lavatorial arrangements of bears.2013 September 20, Marina Hyde, “Is the pope Catholic?”, in The Guardian:
1 more example
In a press release, CARB expanded on their decision. "The LCFS reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by setting a declining carbon intensity target for transportation fuels used in California; producers that don't meet established benchmarks buy credits from those that do. This system has generated $4 billion in annual private sector investment toward a cleaner transportation sector."2024 November 8, Luz Pena, “California's gas prices could have major increase with passing of new fuel standards”, in ABC7 News:
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A surveyor's mark made on some stationary object and shown on a map; used as a reference point.
Near-synonym: datum
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A computer program that is executed to assess the performance of the runtime environment.
Etymology From bench + mark. First use appears c. 1842. Originally a mark cut into a stone by land surveyors to secure a bench (from land surveying jargon in the 19th century, meaning a type of bracket), to mount measuring equipment. The figurative sense first appears c. 1884.
› To measure the performance or quality of (an…
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Followed by at To give certain results in a benchmark test.
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Ambitransitive, Followed by against To use something (e.g., a competitor's product) as a standard to improve one's own thing.