1. a standard or point of reference against which things may be compared or assessed
2. a surveyor's mark cut in a wall, pillar, or building, used as a reference point in measuring altitudes
Usage: surveying

1. to evaluate or check something by comparison with a standard

Examples

• The company's profits serve as a benchmark for the industry.
• This test score will be the benchmark for future assessments.
• The new software became the benchmark against which all others were measured.
• Surveyors used the benchmark on the courthouse wall to measure elevation.
• We need to benchmark our performance against our competitors.
• The team benchmarked their results using last year's data.
• Her achievement set a new benchmark for excellence in the field.