efficiency

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“
In the case of a steam boiler the efficiency is the percentage of the heat supplied in the coal that is usefully employed in making steam.

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Definitions (19)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun The quality or property of being efficient.
  2. noun The degree to which this quality is exercised: The program was implemented with great efficiency and speed.
  3. noun The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system.
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Examples (50)

  • "Aside from questions of friendship, you're a member of my crew, and anything that might interfere with your efficiency is my concern." —  Cascade Point
  • Subsequent investigation showed that no matter what medium is employed, be it air, hydrogen, mercury vapor, oil, or a stream of electrons, the efficiency is the same. —  The Strange Life of Nikola Tesla
  • You need to supply a horizontal tension, and your efficiency is about 5\% less, but you regain a lot of that by starting up high. —  Analog SFF, September 2006
  • Greater efficiency translates into increased track capacity capability, which means far-improved operations and the more expeditious movement of more trains than what currently exists. —  California Progress Report
  • Another efficiency is energy efficiency, and for the first time Apple is offering a Solid State Drive (SSD) option for Xserve, which reduces power draw, heat, and noise vs. a normal hard drive and costs $500. —  Low End Mac
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = Spanish eficiencia = Portuguese efficiencia = Italian efficienza, from Latin efficientia, efficiency, from efficien(t-)s, efficient: see efficient.
 

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/ɛˈfɪʃənsi/
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