as in standards
something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared
this prize-winning biography will be the benchmark against which all others will be judged in future years
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Recent Examples of benchmarks
Heavy selling is starting to put a visible dent in equity benchmarks whose ascent had pushed valuations to some of the highest levels since the 2000 dot-com peak.
—
Rita Nazareth, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
Many early childhood education experts rely on the National Institute for Early Education Research’s 10 quality benchmarks to make broad assessments in all states that offer public preschool programs.
—Makiya Seminera, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Since 1994, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) has identified the country’s favorite grocery store each year based on its satisfaction benchmarks.
—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Feb. 2026
The Franklin Street property has a history of setting neighborhood benchmarks.
—Sara Hansen, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
To reduce the impacts of global warming, like the ones present on the Connecticut coastline, Save the Sound suggests that shifts towards renewable energy and carbon reductions in the transportation industry are key for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reaching future GWSA benchmarks.
—Maleena Muzio, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2026
The exception is graphics performance, where high-end graphics cards made by Nvidia and AMD tend to be extremely punchy, based on a combination of our internal data as well as public benchmarks.
—Keumars Afifi-Sabet, Space.com, 30 Jan. 2026
This will then signal the need for newer, more-comprehensive benchmarks that guide the development of better enterprise AI agents.
—IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2026
On standard robotic manipulation benchmarks, Cosmos Policy achieved high success rates across multi-step tasks that require long-term reasoning.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026
Rita Nazareth, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
Many early childhood education experts rely on the National Institute for Early Education Research’s 10 quality benchmarks to make broad assessments in all states that offer public preschool programs.
—Makiya Seminera, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Since 1994, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) has identified the country’s favorite grocery store each year based on its satisfaction benchmarks.
—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Feb. 2026
The Franklin Street property has a history of setting neighborhood benchmarks.
—Sara Hansen, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
To reduce the impacts of global warming, like the ones present on the Connecticut coastline, Save the Sound suggests that shifts towards renewable energy and carbon reductions in the transportation industry are key for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reaching future GWSA benchmarks.
—Maleena Muzio, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2026
The exception is graphics performance, where high-end graphics cards made by Nvidia and AMD tend to be extremely punchy, based on a combination of our internal data as well as public benchmarks.
—Keumars Afifi-Sabet, Space.com, 30 Jan. 2026
This will then signal the need for newer, more-comprehensive benchmarks that guide the development of better enterprise AI agents.
—IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2026
On standard robotic manipulation benchmarks, Cosmos Policy achieved high success rates across multi-step tasks that require long-term reasoning.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for benchmarks
Noun
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The surveys show widespread skepticism that governments can really fix problems like the affordability crisis, rising inequality, declining upward mobility, and stagnating or declining living standards.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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Tesla’s questionable qualifications To qualify for a voucher, manufacturers must obtain a zero-emission powertrain certification showing the vehicle meets certain performance standards.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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These are the criteria USA TODAY Network journalists considered while curating our annual Restaurants of the Year list, a selection of dining spots across the country.—
Michael McCarter,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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Nationwide, more than 46 million people met the criteria for a substance abuse disorder as of 2021, the most recent data available.—
Emma Fenske,
The Conversation,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There have been all sorts of concerns for a while, including shenanigans around using metrics from SaaS to apply to AI-native companies (that logic is specious at best).—
Allie Garfinkle,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
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House Bill 1002 also ties utility profits to performance metrics, including affordability and service restoration, and utilities will use a three-year rate plan.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Benchmarks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benchmarks. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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