undertake

American  

[uhn-der-teyk] / ˌʌn dərˈteɪk /

verb (used with object)

• undertakes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• undertook,
  past
• undertaken,
  past participle
• undertaking
  present participle

1. to take upon oneself, as a task, performance, etc.; attempt.

   She undertook the job of answering all the mail.

2. to promise, agree, or obligate oneself (followed by an infinitive).

   The married couple undertook to love, honor, and cherish each other.

3. to warrant or guarantee (followed by a clause).

   The sponsors undertake that their candidate meets all the requirements.

4. to take in charge; assume the duty of attending to.

   The lawyer undertook a new case.

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verb (used without object)

• undertakes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• undertook,
  past
• undertaken,
  past participle
• undertaking
  present participle

1. Archaic. to engage oneself by promise; give a guarantee, or become surety.

undertake British  

/ ˌʌndəˈteɪk /

verb

1. (tr) to contract to or commit oneself to (something) or (to do something)

   to undertake a job

   to undertake to deliver the goods

2. (tr) to attempt to; agree to start

3. (tr) to take (someone) in charge

4. archaic to make oneself responsible (for)

5. (tr) to promise

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preundertake
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Participles

• undertaking
  present
• undertaken
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• undertake
  simple
• undertakes
  simple
• have undertaken
  perfect
• has undertaken
  perfect
• am undertaking
  progressive
• are undertaking
  progressive
• is undertaking
  progressive
• have been undertaking
  perfect progressive
• has been undertaking
  perfect progressive

Past

• undertook
  simple
• had undertaken
  perfect
• was undertaking
  progressive
• were undertaking
  progressive
• had been undertaking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will undertake
  simple
• will have undertaken
  perfect
• will be undertaking
  progressive
• will have been undertaking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of undertake

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English undertaken; see under-, take

Explanation

When you undertake a task or challenge, you attempt to accomplish it. If you want to undertake a verbal challenge right now, try saying “sushi chef” ten times quickly without messing up. Way back in the 13th century, undertake meant “seize” or “entrap.” Of course, the meaning has shifted significantly since then, and we hope you don’t feel entrapped when you decide to undertake a project. However, undertake does convey a level of commitment and involvement that’s somewhat stronger than the words try or attempt might suggest.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

undertake undertakes undertook undertaken undertaking

Rivas wanted reassurance that district staff had made sure that these projects are the right ones to undertake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

If a new queen survives until her first brood emerges as adult workers, though, then the odds are in her favour as she no longer needs to undertake risky foraging.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

Smith said being private will make it easier to undertake the transformation they are announcing today.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

"It's extremely challenging for post-conflict societies to undertake a national reckoning or acknowledge responsibility for the crimes of the past."

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

“It requires indeed some courage to undertake a labor of such far-reaching extent,” Mendel would write later.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Mr. Statham, a not infrequently delightful actor whose main weakness is an inability to say no to mediocre projects, undertakes the usual heroic killing spree in “Mutiny,” a brief, reasonably compelling but shamelessly workmanlike feature.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Unitree’s humanoid robots can walk, run and climb and “can imitate & reinforce the learning drive” said the company, referring to algorithms that train the robot’s artificial intelligence as it undertakes tasks.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

In the memorandum of understanding, the United States undertakes to "terminate all types of sanctions against" Iran, and to "make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets" of Iran.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

The eleventh point of the document notes that the US "undertakes to make fully available frozen or restricted funds" once the MoU is signed and that procedures will be agreed upon during negotiations.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

Whatever he undertakes, he commits himself to it fully, absolutely.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Concern stems from recent reports that Anthropic blocked use of AI tools to develop bioweapons and that swarms of AI bots autonomously undertook massive hacking operations.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

TOKYO—Japan spent a record $98.7 billion to prop up the yen in the past month, as it undertook rare coordinated action with the U.S. to stabilize the currency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

"We undertook this study to determine if vanillin, a flavor chemical often used in e-cigarettes at high concentrations, could adversely affect the development of young embryos in humans."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

"Of course it was Levy who undertook that action, but the state could definitely have prevented it so it has to bear that responsibility," she told Radio 4.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

It was to scrutinize such questions as these that we undertook a dissection.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

That revision was undertaken with analytical rigor: The process took two years, involved 35 agencies, incorporated extensive new and existing research, and elicited over 20,000 comments.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

The Times’ reporting on restraining orders was undertaken as part of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s Domestic Violence Impact Reporting Fund and engagement initiative.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

"The charitable work of the duke and duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity. In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests."

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

Kim acknowledges that the Bronx, Chicago and Las Vegas projects are on a different scale from anything Bally’s has undertaken.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

During the thirty-three years I’d called myself a climber, I’d undertaken some difficult projects.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Enter Reinsve and Stan, an ideal pair of leads capable of providing the understated, baseline emotion that Mungiu requires to pull off an undertaking as tricky as “Fjord.”

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

"It should not have reached the point of sale and we take full responsibility for not undertaking proper due diligence," it said.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

"We don't want Australia to become a safe haven for people who are undertaking foreign interference on behalf of other countries," Barrett said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

But now, as the sun poured through the third-floor atrium of the Bloom Center, Riley couldn’t help but point out the symbolism of such an ambitious undertaking actually coming to life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

A trip of 240,000 miles to the Moon still represents a very big undertaking for us.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• begin
• commence
• guarantee
• initiate
• launch
• offer
• shoulder
• tackle
• try