"efficient" meaning in English

See efficient in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ɪˈfɪʃənt/ [UK], /əˈfɪʃənt/ [Canada, US] Audio: en-us-efficient.ogg [US] Forms: efficient [positive], more efficient [comparative], most efficient [superlative]
Head templates: {{adj|more=true}} [POS TABLE]
  1. If something is efficient, it can do a lot but uses very little time, energy, money, etc.
    Sense id: simple-efficient-en-adj-6QDIH3rY
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "efficient",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "more efficient",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most efficient",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "more": "true"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "inefficient"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He wastes a lot of time talking, and isn't very efficient at work."
        },
        {
          "text": "Smaller cars are generally more fuel-efficient than big cars."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something is efficient, it can do a lot but uses very little time, energy, money, etc."
      ],
      "id": "simple-efficient-en-adj-6QDIH3rY"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪˈfɪʃənt/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈfɪʃənt/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-efficient.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "efficient"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "efficient",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "more efficient",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most efficient",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "more": "true"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "inefficient"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He wastes a lot of time talking, and isn't very efficient at work."
        },
        {
          "text": "Smaller cars are generally more fuel-efficient than big cars."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something is efficient, it can do a lot but uses very little time, energy, money, etc."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪˈfɪʃənt/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈfɪʃənt/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-efficient.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "efficient"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-08-01 from the simplewiktionary dump dated 2025-07-21 using wiktextract (ed078bd and 3c020d2). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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