BENCHMARKS Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

benchmarks

noun

plural of benchmark

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of benchmarks The team said its coring efficiency, sample quality, and operational stability reached advanced IODP benchmarks. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026 The method substantially improved performance on two low-light benchmarks, although the broader challenge is far from solved. — Bo Wang, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026 Geekom’s lackluster graphics performance was clearer in these tests than in the 3DMark benchmarks. — Michael Justin Allen Sexton, PC Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026 Oil slipped in early Asia trade on Friday, with both benchmarks falling. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026 Access to mental health services also fell short of benchmarks, and some foster kids are still sleeping in child welfare offices and other unlicensed centers because other, more secure placements weren’t available, the report showed. — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026 OpenAI earlier this month released GPT-6 Astra, which has sometimes been modestly beating Opus 5 in benchmarks and user sentiment. — Samuel Axon, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026 Our industry can lose sight of that because wealth management firms are very good at measuring things, like returns, benchmarks and expense ratios. — Brian Duggan, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026 These are benchmarks, so individual days, especially during heat waves, can be considerably hotter. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for benchmarks

Noun

Professional societies and standards organizations will need to develop and regularly update the technical requirements.

— Euan Ashley, STAT, 1 Oct. 2026
Cornell University’s investigation, of course, did not have to adhere to New York’s arguably archaic criminal standards, but its response, too, has triggered anger and disbelief across airwaves and social media.

— Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of standards

Noun

Earlier this summer, CalMatters reported only one research institute in California appeared to meet the criteria included in the measure for the nonprofit that would be awarded half the bond proceeds.

— Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
The company has since been working on separate criteria for reporting cases that do not qualify as conventional security incidents.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of criteria

Noun

Different metrics, from profitability to market share, could yield a different result to the question.

— John Liu, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
Population metrics aside, there’s a German word that goes a long way toward explaining why so many people seem to enjoy watching the Cowboys every fall—especially when Dallas is on the wrong end of a loss.

— Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of metrics

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benchmark

benchmarks

bend

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“Benchmarks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benchmarks. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of benchmarks

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