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bench·mark

(bĕnchmärk′)

1. A standard by which something can be measured or judged: "Inflation ... is a great distorter of seemingly fixed economic ideas and benchmarks" (Benjamin M. Friedman).

2. often bench mark A surveyor's mark made on a stationary object of previously determined position and elevation and used as a reference point, as in geologic surveys or tidal observations.

tr.v. bench·marked, bench·mark·ing, bench·marks

To measure (a rival's product) according to specified standards in order to compare it with and improve one's own product.

[From the use of the surveyor's mark as a place to insert an angle iron that serves as a bench, or level surface, for the support for a leveling rod.]

(click for a larger image)

bench mark

US Geological Survey

bench mark

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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