efficiency

[ ih-fish-uhn-see ]

noun

, plural ef·fi·cien·cies.

1. the state or quality of being efficient, or able to accomplish something with the least waste of time and effort; competency in performance.
2. accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort:

   The assembly line increased industry's efficiency.

3. the ratio of the work done or energy developed by a machine, engine, etc., to the energy supplied to it, usually expressed as a percentage.
4. efficiency apartment.

efficiency

/ ɪˈfɪʃənsɪ /

noun

1. the quality or state of being efficient; competence; effectiveness
2. the ratio of the useful work done by a machine, engine, device, etc, to the energy supplied to it, often expressed as a percentage See also thermal efficiency

efficiency

/ ĭ-fĭsh′ən-sē /

1. The ratio of the energy delivered (or work done) by a machine to the energy needed (or work required) in operating the machine. The efficiency of any machine is always less than one due to forces such as friction that use up energy unproductively.
2. See also mechanical advantage
3. The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system.

Other Words From

• nonef·ficien·cy noun
• super·ef·ficien·cy noun plural superefficiencies

Word History and Origins

Origin of efficiency¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin efficientia, from efficient- (stem of efficiēns efficient ) + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

With limited ad budgets, every dollar counts and efficiency is at a premium.

From Search Engine Land

Pitchers who lack mechanical efficiency are more reliant on the creation of power to throw hard.

From FiveThirtyEight

Automation shines with grouped efficiency and averages…not shared and thus manually managed data.

From Search Engine Land

There’s this layer of data and efficiency that we’ve experienced as we’ve figured this all out that I don’t think we can walk away from in the future.

From Digiday

Since then the rise of e-commerce marketplaces has forced a major shift in the design of the consumer journey, designed to reduce friction and increase efficiency.

From Digiday

And increasingly smart navigation aids in the cockpit brought far greater precision and efficiency to route planning.

From The Daily Beast

His stories were constructed with ruthless narrative efficiency.

From The Daily Beast

This was the most sophisticated global tracking system ever devised, and it worked with lethal efficiency.

From The Daily Beast

Second,” said Sen. Paul, “is the Milton Friedman efficiency argument.

From The Daily Beast

Efficiency may seem a pitiless term to use but it does have meaning.

From The Daily Beast

Can there be any comparison between the educational efficiency of the two methods?

From Project Gutenberg

An estimation of the solids, therefore, furnishes an important clue to the functional efficiency of the kidneys.

From Project Gutenberg

Is the college stage of our present educational system anywhere near its maximum possible efficiency?

From Project Gutenberg

In all business matters he required a rigid economy though never at the expense of efficiency.

From Project Gutenberg

By the adoption of scientific principles Hope-Jones has multiplied the efficiency of Swell boxes tenfold.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ability
• adaptability
• capability
• competence
• energy
• expertise
• performance
• productivity
• readiness
• skill
• talent