assignment

[ uh-sahyn-muhnt ]

noun

1. something assigned, as a particular task or duty:

   She completed the assignment and went on to other jobs.

   Synonyms: job, obligation

2. a position of responsibility, post of duty, or the like, to which one is appointed:

   He left for his assignment in the Middle East.

   Synonyms: job, obligation

3. an act of assigning; appointment.
4. Law.
   1. the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer.
   2. a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors.

assignment

/ əˈsaɪnmənt /

noun

1. something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task
2. a position or post to which a person is assigned
3. the act of assigning or state of being assigned
4. law
   1. the transfer to another of a right, interest, or title to property, esp personal property

      assignment of a lease

   2. the document effecting such a transfer
   3. the right, interest, or property transferred
5. law (formerly) the transfer, esp by an insolvent debtor, of property in trust for the benefit of his creditors
6. logic a function that associates specific values with each variable in a formal expression
7. history a system (1789–1841) whereby a convict could become the unpaid servant of a freeman

Other Words From

• misas·signment noun
• nonas·signment noun
• reas·signment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of assignment¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English assignament, from Medieval Latin assignāmentum. See assign, -ment

Synonym Study

See task.

Example Sentences

His most recent assignment was the 84th Precinct, at the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge.

From The Daily Beast

When Lewis was shipped off to Vietnam, his son was just three months old, and the timing of the assignment worried Lewis.

From The Daily Beast

When Vial got that first assignment, she was just beginning her photography career, and Cirque du Soleil was only a few years old.

From The Daily Beast

“For our winter issue, we gave ourselves one assignment: Break The Internet,” wrote Paper.

From The Daily Beast

By the 1950s the rapid assignment of gender to an ambiguously gendered infant had become standard.

From The Daily Beast

Consent to an assignment may be given by the president of the company, without formal vote by the directors.

From Project Gutenberg

A transfer by the lessee of the whole or a part of his interest for a part of the time is a sublease and not an assignment.

From Project Gutenberg

An assignment to one who has an insurable interest as relative, creditor and the like, is always valid.

From Project Gutenberg

When an assignment of it is made, the assignee may sue in his own name for rent accruing after the assignment.

From Project Gutenberg

In some states statutes forbid the assignment of such policies for the benefit of creditors.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• appointment
• chore
• drill
• duty
• homework
• job
• position
• post
• practice
• stint