perform
per·form/pɚˈfoɹm/verb
perform is spelled P-E-R-F-O-R-M, 2 syllables: per·form. The wrong spelling people search most is perfom: about 110 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 26 of all searches for the word. Perform is a verb meaning “To do (something); to execute”.
How many letters and syllables are in perform?
| Letters | 7: P-E-R-F-O-R-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: per·form |
| In writing | 46 times per million words; the 2,204th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, perfom, about 110 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell perform?
Perform is spelled P-E-R-F-O-R-M. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 21 of the searches for perform in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is perform?
Perform appears 46 times per million words in written English, the 2,204th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce perform?
- UK /pəˈfɔːm/
- UK [pʰəˈfɔːm]
- US /pɚˈfoɹm/
Perform has 2 syllables, split per·form in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-perform.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with perform?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as perform from its last stressed vowel (/oɹm/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: preform.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of perform
- performs present, singular, he/she/it
- performing participle, present
- performed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- performe
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does perform mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To do (something); to execute.
The scientists performed several experiments.
- 2
To exhibit an expected pattern of behavior; to function; to work.
The new employee performs well.
- 3
Of a man, to be able to initiate or fulfill an act of sexual intercourse.
- 4
To act in accordance with (a contract); to fulfill one’s terms of (a contract).
Failure to perform a contract on time may constitute a breach of contract.
- 5
To fulfill contractually agreed-to terms.
They entered into an agreement and now they are obliged to perform.
- 6
To do (something) in front of an audience, such as acting or music, often in order to entertain.
She will perform in the play.
- 7
To behave theatrically so as to give the impression of (a quality, character trait, etc.); to feign.
The accused only performed remorse.
- 8
To behave in accordance with, and thereby in turn shape, (a social notion or role).
perform masculinity
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Perform in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | exécuter, effectuer, faire, accomplir , performer , jouer |
| German | durchführen, ausführen, verrichten, vollführen, vollbringen , Arbeit leisten |
| Portuguese | realizar, fazer, levar a cabo , interpretar, apresentar-se |
| Spanish | cumplir, efectuar, llevar a cabo, realizar , desempeñarse, fungir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does perform come from?
From Middle English parformen, performen (“to perform”), from Anglo-Norman performer, parfourmer, alteration of Old French parfornir, parfurnir (“to complete, accomplish, perform”), from par- + fornir, furnir (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Frankish *frummjan (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Proto-Germanic *frumjaną, *framjaną (“to further, promote”), from Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“in front, forth”), *per- (“forward, out”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).