efficient

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adjective

performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort; having and using requisite knowledge, skill, and industry; competent; capable: a reliable, efficient assistant.

satisfactory and economical to use: Our new air conditioner is more efficient than our old one.

producing an effect, as a cause; causative.

utilizing a particular commodity or product with the least waste of resources or effort (usually used in combination): a fuel-efficient engine.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin efficient- (stem of efficiēns), equivalent to ef- ef- + fic-, combining form of facere to make, do¹ + -ent- -ent

Related forms

ef·fi·cient·ly, adverb

non·ef·fi·cient, adjective

non·ef·fi·cient·ly, adverb

qua·si-ef·fi·cient, adjective

qua·si-ef·fi·cient·ly, adverb

su·per·ef·fi·cient, adjective

un·ef·fi·cient, adjective

Synonyms
1. effectual. See effective.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins

World English Dictionary

efficient (ɪˈfɪʃənt)

—*adj*
1.	functioning or producing effectively and with the least waste of effort; competent
2.	philosophy producing a direct effect; causative

[C14: from Latin efficiēns effecting]

ef'ficiently

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

efficient

late 14c., "making," from L. efficientem (nom. efficiens), prp. of efficere "work out, accomplish" (see effect). Meaning "productive, skilled" is from 1787. Related: Efficiently

Example sentences

The learning-sciences literature has demonstrated that learning is more

efficient and effective in such groups.

The results revealed that human skulls, far from being weak, are quite tough

and unusually efficient for their size.

Durable furnishings and well-organized tools and materials are key to a small

but efficient workspace.

As a general rule, trains are considerably more energy efficient than buses.

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ball businesslike can-do Carnot's theorem cause Desert Culture

Matching Quote

"The women of this century are neither idle nor indifferent. They are working with might and main to mitigate the evils which stare them in the face on every side, but much of their work is without knowledge. It is aimed at the effects, not the cause; it is plucking the spoiled fruit; it is lopping off the poisonous branches of the deadly upas tree, which but makes the root more vigorous in sending out new shoots in every direction. A right understanding of physiological law teaches us that the cause must be removed; the tree must be girdled; the tap-root must be severed. The tap-root of our social upas lies deep down at the very foundations of society. It is woman's dependence. It is woman's subjection. Hence, the first and only efficient work must be to emancipate woman from her enslavement."

-Susan B. Anthony