--- optiview_delivery: edge_optimized content_type: semantic_markdown source_url: https://learnings.org/term/benchmark brand_content: none publication_version: "3.0" published_at: 2026-10-05T14:06:11Z composition_version: composition-v2.1.0 presentation_version: presentation-v1.2.0 --- # Benchmark [Skip to content](https://learnings.org/term/benchmark#main-content) - [All](https://learnings.org/terms) - [2](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=2) - [3](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=3) - [8](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=8) - [A](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=A) - [B](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=B) - [C](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=C) - [D](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=D) - [E](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=E) - [F](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=F) - [G](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=G) - [H](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=H) - [I](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=I) - [J](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=J) - [K](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=K) - [L](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=L) - [M](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=M) - [N](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=N) - [O](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=O) - [P](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=P) - [Q](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=Q) - [R](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=R) - [S](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=S) - [T](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=T) - [U](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=U) - [V](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=V) - [W](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=W) - [Y](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=Y) - [Z](https://learnings.org/terms?letter=Z) A corporate euphemism for "comparing ourselves to people who are actually good" that makes mediocrity sound like competitive analysis, usually used to justify why we're not as terrible as we could be. ### Examples Examples: - "Let's benchmark against industry leaders." (let's see how much better everyone else is) - "Our benchmarks show we're competitive." (our benchmarks show we're not the worst) - "Benchmarking will improve our performance." (benchmarking will remind us how bad we are) ### Tags euphemismcomparingmediocritycompetitiveworst 545 views • Created 4/14/2024 Share term ### Related Terms [ #### Herding cats A corporate euphemism for "trying to manage people who don't want to... 1909 views• euphemism, managed ](https://learnings.org/term/herding-cats-v15)[ #### Champion A corporate euphemism for "person who gets blamed when things go wrong"... 1901 views• euphemism, blamed ](https://learnings.org/term/champion)[ #### Backburner A corporate euphemism for "never" that makes procrastination sound like strategic prioritization,... 1843 views• euphemism, never ](https://learnings.org/term/backburner-v2)[ #### Watercooler A corporate euphemism for "gossip" that makes workplace rumors sound like professional... 1811 views• euphemism, gossip ](https://learnings.org/term/watercooler)[ #### Sidebar A corporate euphemism for "wasting time" that makes pointless digressions sound like... 1545 views• euphemism, wasting ](https://learnings.org/term/sidebar) Keep exploring the corporate jargon dictionary ## 🌍 In the Wild \+ Add Example No examples yet. Be the first to add one! ### 🤖 AI Tools 🎓 Translate with Professor📝 Open Writing Tools🎯 Play Buzzword Bingo Ask the Professor ## Additional source context © 2008–2026 Learnings Dot Org — Speak fluent corporate. Ironically. ## Additional page links - [Herding cats · A corporate euphemism for "trying to manage people who don't want to... · 1909 views• euphemism, managed](https://learnings.org/term/herding-cats-v15) — Related Terms - [Champion · A corporate euphemism for "person who gets blamed when things go wrong"... · 1901 views• euphemism, blamed](https://learnings.org/term/champion) — Related Terms - [Backburner · A corporate euphemism for "never" that makes procrastination sound like strategic prioritization,... · 1843 views• euphemism, never](https://learnings.org/term/backburner-v2) — Related Terms - [Watercooler · A corporate euphemism for "gossip" that makes workplace rumors sound like professional... · 1811 views• euphemism, gossip](https://learnings.org/term/watercooler) — Related Terms - [Sidebar · A corporate euphemism for "wasting time" that makes pointless digressions sound like... · 1545 views• euphemism, wasting](https://learnings.org/term/sidebar) — Related Terms