errand

[er-uhnd]

noun

1. a short and quick trip to accomplish a specific purpose, as to buy something, deliver a package, or convey a message, often for someone else.

   Synonyms: chore, assignment, task, mission

2. the purpose of such a trip.

   He finished his errands.

   Synonyms: chore, assignment, task, mission

3. a special mission or function entrusted to a messenger; commission.

errand

/ ˈɛrənd /

noun

1. a short trip undertaken to perform a necessary task or commission (esp in the phrase run errands )

2. the purpose or object of such a trip

Word History and Origins

Origin of errand¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English erande, Old English ærende; cognate with Old High German āruntī; compare Old English ār “messenger,” Gothic airus; not related to err ( def. ), errant ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of errand¹

Old English ǣrende; related to ār messenger, Old Norse erendi message, Old High German ārunti, Swedish ärende

Idioms and Phrases

see fool's errand; run an errand.

Example Sentences

Instead of calling a friend, colleague or family member every time I went out for a walk or an errand, I fired up the ChatGPT app.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Early the next morning, the sun started rising, automobiles started driving, robots started running errands.

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Teasing out the plot’s tangled threads and expecting each to adhere to logic is a fool’s errand, yet what viewer will insist this type of picture have an airtight story?

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However, when your destination is itinerant and camouflaged by galaxies of LED lights, finding a particular art car in the dark can be a fool’s errand.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His job mostly involved getting coffee and running errands, but the experience was everything a celebrity seeker could ask for, he says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times