What does performing mean?
Performing is the present participle and gerund of perform, and it is also used as an adjective before nouns. As a verb form, it shows an action in progress: someone may be performing a task, a function, or a medical procedure. In the context of the performing arts, it refers to activities such as acting, singing, dancing, and presenting music or theatre. The word also describes a person who gives a professional performance, as in performing artist, and may suggest skill, showmanship, or regular professional activity. Because it comes from the verb perform, it carries the basic idea of carrying out or presenting something, but its association with stage and screen performance makes it especially evocative when used figuratively.
To carry out an action, task, function, or activity.
"The team is performing a series of tests on the new system."
This is the present participle of perform and is used to show an activity in progress.
To act, sing, dance, or present an entertainment before an audience.
"She performed the role of the heroine to critical acclaim."
This sense is especially common in discussions of the performing arts and professional entertainment.
Relating to or involving the presentation of a performance, especially as a professional activity.
"The award recognizes excellence in the performing arts."
Usually attributive, as in performing artist, performing arts, and performing rights.
Performing is the word behind the performing arts: it captures both the act of acting and the broader idea of putting an ability on display.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does performing come from?
The word performing comes from perform, which was borrowed into English from Old French perforer, meaning to accomplish or complete. The English verb developed both the sense of carrying out a task and the sense of presenting a play, music, or other entertainment. Its derivatives, including performance and performer, preserve the same root and its association with carrying out an action or presenting something before an audience.
Related word forms
How performing is actually used
Performing is common in both formal and informal contexts. In the phrase performing arts, it refers broadly to acting, dance, music, and other forms of live presentation. As an attributive modifier, it usually occurs before a noun, such as performing artist or performing rights.
Easily confused with performing
Performing is the present participle and gerund of perform, while performance is the noun referring to an act, event, or the act of presenting something.
Performing can describe the act of carrying out a performance or performing a role, whereas performative more often describes something intended to impress an audience or make a social performance.