Efficient Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Efficient most often describes what is capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy. While the word can be applied to both ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut efficient adjective SaveWord ef·​fi·​cient |\i-ˈfi-shənt \ EssentialMeaningofefficient :capableofproducingdesiredresultswithoutwastingmaterials,time,orenergy anefficientworkerefficientmachinery FullDefinitionofefficient 1 :productiveofdesiredeffects especially :capableofproducingdesiredresultswithlittleornowaste(asoftimeormaterials) anefficientworkerefficientmachinery 2 :beingorinvolvingtheimmediateagentinproducinganeffect theefficientactionofheatinchangingwatertosteam Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym ComparingEfficient,Effective,andProficient MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutefficient Synonyms&Antonymsforefficient Synonyms effective, effectual, efficacious, fruitful, operative, potent, productive Antonyms fruitless, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficient, inoperative, unfruitful, unproductive, useless VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforefficient effective,effectual,efficient,efficaciousmeanproducingorcapableofproducingaresult.effectivestressestheactualproductionoforthepowertoproduceaneffect. aneffectiverebuttal effectualsuggeststheaccomplishmentofadesiredresultespeciallyasviewedafterthefact. themeasurestostopthepilferingprovedeffectual efficientsuggestsanactingorapotentialforactionoruseinsuchawayastoavoidlossorwasteofenergyineffecting,producing,orfunctioning. anefficientsmallcar efficacioussuggestspossessionofaspecialqualityorvirtuethatgiveseffectivepower. adetergentthatisefficaciousinremovinggrease ComparingEfficient,Effective,andProficient Thesethreewordscoversomeoverlappingterritory. Efficientmostoftendescribeswhatiscapableofproducingdesiredresultswithoutwastingmaterials,time,orenergy.Whilethewordcanbeappliedtobothpeopleandthings,itisfarmorecommonlyappliedtothings,suchasmachines,systems,processes,andorganizations.Thefocusofthewordisonhowlittleiswastedorlostwhilethedesiredresultsareproduced. Effectivetypicallydescribesthings—suchaspolicies,treatments,arguments,andtechniques—thatdowhattheyareintendedtodo.Peoplecanalsobedescribedaseffectivewhentheyaccomplishwhattheysetouttoaccomplish,butthewordisfarmoreoftenappliedtothings. Proficienttypicallydescribespeople,anditoftenisfollowedbytheprepositionat.Ifyouareproficientatsomething,youareverygoodatit.Youare,infact,sogoodatdoingitthatyouareunusuallyefficientwhenyoudoit.Onecanalsobeproficientinsomething,suchasalanguage. ExamplesofefficientinaSentence Likeapage-turnerofanovel,[Nomar]Garciaparrakeepsyoueagertoseewhatcomesnext,especiallythisseason,whenhewillhavethemostefficientRBImachineinbaseball,free-agentsigneeMannyRamirez,ridingshotgunwithhim. —TomVerducci,SportsIllustrated,5Mar.2001 Shortandmuscular,heisasefficientasasurgeon,crackingeggswithonehandandtossingtheshellsintothebasketunderthecounterbehindhimwithoutlooking,flippingbreadintotheslotsofarowoftoasters,andliterallythrowing"togo"orderstenfeetdownthecountertotheguymanningthecashregister. —PaulBaumann,Commonweal,18July1997 Wildewaswearingtwoemeralds, …oneonthelittlefingerofeachhand.Thatontheleftwastheefficientcauseofalljoys,thatontherightofmisfortunes.Askedwhyhecontinuedtoweartheoneontheright,Wildesaid,"Oneneedsmisfortunestolivehappily." —RichardEllmann,OscarWilde,(1984)1988 Originallydesignedforthepreparationofdesserts,thewokseventuallyprovedtheirversatilityasefficientvesselsforstir-frying,deep-frying,andthereductionofliquids. —KempMilesMinifie,Gourmet,November1988 thatmanuallawnmowerisnotaveryefficienttoolfordoingahugeyard SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Cilalsosaidotheradvancessuchastechnologyforpreparingsandwichesanddigitalmenuboardsarehelpingmakedrive-thrusmoreefficient. — BrettMolina,USATODAY,1Dec.2021 Thecompanypromisesthatitsall-solid-statebatterieswillsignificantlyreducechargingtimeandmakeelectricvehiclesmoreefficientandaccessible. — CatherineThorbecke,ABCNews,29Nov.2021 Partofthelegislationisaseriesofrebates,taxcreditsandgrantsforpeopletomaketheirhomesandcarsmoreenergyefficient. — HollyCaggiano,ScientificAmerican,16Nov.2021 AnotherScrippsscientist,Jin-QuanYu,madethelistedandisconsideredtobeafuturecandidatefortheNobelprizebasedonhiseffortstomakechemicalreactionsmoreefficient—somethingthat’sessentialtodrugdevelopment. — GaryRobbins,SanDiegoUnion-Tribune,16Nov.2021 GoWildharvesthistorytomaketheprocessmoreefficient,accordingtotheagency. — PaulA.Smith,MilwaukeeJournalSentinel,15Nov.2021 Thisisthechancetocreateanewproductormakethebusinessmoreefficientwiththehelpofabrandnewtool. — NateNead,Forbes,15Nov.2021 Overthelongrun,theimprovedhighwaysandbridges,aswellastheinvestmentinastrongerbroadbandnetwork,couldmakeworkersmoreefficientandsmoothoutfrictionpointsinthesupplychain. — KatieLobosco,CNN,9Nov.2021 TheMassSaveprogram,runbyutilitiesincludinggascompanies,offersrebatesandotherincentivestoencouragehomeownerstomaketheirhomesmoreefficientandswitchtoheatingsystemsthatemitlesscarbon. — BostonGlobe.com,9Nov.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'efficient.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofefficient 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense2 HistoryandEtymologyforefficient MiddleEnglish,"active,immediate(ofacause),"borrowedfromMiddleFrench&Latin;MiddleFrench,borrowedfromLatinefficient-,efficiens"producingorgivingrisetosomething,immediate(ofacause),active,"frompresentparticipleofefficere"tomake,bringabout,produce,carryout"—moreateffectentry1 LearnMoreAboutefficient Shareefficient PosttheDefinitionofefficienttoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofefficientonTwitter TimeTravelerforefficient Thefirstknownuseofefficientwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearefficient efficiencyexpert efficient efficientcause SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforefficient LastUpdated 8Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Efficient.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efficient.Accessed13Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforefficient efficient adjective ef·​fi·​cient |\i-ˈfi-shənt \ KidsDefinitionofefficient :capableofbringingaboutadesiredresultwithlittlewaste(asoftimeorenergy) anefficientworker OtherWordsfromefficient efficiently adverb MorefromMerriam-Websteronefficient Nglish:TranslationofefficientforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofefficientforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY beleaguer SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary FarmIdiomsQuiz Whatdoes'poke'refertointheexpression'piginapoke'? mudpit stable stateofdifficulty bag Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases FavoriteQuotationsAboutWords,Vol.1 AKissisaLovelyTrick,&More Whatdoes'sus'mean? 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