as in standard
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 benchmark
Those historic benchmarks include the women’s suffrage movement that began in the mid-19th century out of the broader women’s rights movement.
—
Leslie Hoyle Guerra, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Futures for West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, were hovering near $59 on Friday.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 10 Jan. 2026
And all but one of the price benchmarks from these two real estate trackers show 2025 rent hikes smaller than the previous year.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 9 Jan. 2026
At the same time, the Yankees could also view those contracts as benchmarks.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for benchmark
Leslie Hoyle Guerra, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Futures for West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, were hovering near $59 on Friday.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 10 Jan. 2026
And all but one of the price benchmarks from these two real estate trackers show 2025 rent hikes smaller than the previous year.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 9 Jan. 2026
At the same time, the Yankees could also view those contracts as benchmarks.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for benchmark
Recent Examples of Synonyms for benchmark
Noun
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An example of a standard in summer is a sherbert series featuring lactose and vanilla.—
Janice Phelan,
Kansas City Star,
8 Jan. 2026
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Recent data showed that police response is becoming faster, but still lags behind California standards.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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However, it was later determined that the case did not meet authorities' acceptance criteria at the time.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
11 Jan. 2026
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Prosecutors said last weekend that the legal criteria to detain the bar's owners had so far not been met.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Benchmark.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benchmark. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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