undertaking

[uhn-der-tey-king, uhn-der-tey-, uhn-der-tey-king]

noun

1. the act of a person who undertakes any task or responsibility.

2. a task, enterprise, etc., undertaken.

   Synonyms: venture, effort, job, endeavor, project

3. a promise; pledge; guarantee.

4. the business of an undertaker or funeral director.

undertaking

/ ˈʌndəˌteɪkɪŋ /

noun

1. something undertaken; task, venture, or enterprise

2. an agreement to do something

3. the business of an undertaker

4. informal,  the practice of overtaking on an inner lane a vehicle which is travelling in an outer lane

Word History and Origins

Origin of undertaking¹

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; under, taking

Example Sentences

With a previous game to build on, it's not a completely fresh start but, Nate explains, the project is still a huge undertaking.

From BBC

The government has introduced 30 hours a week of funded childcare for working parents and is undertaking a review of parental leave.

From BBC

It apologised to concerned parents for the error and said it was undertaking a "full internal investigation".

From BBC

The party has told him that any future readmission would be conditional on him publicly retracting posts that had been complained about, apologising and undertaking safeguarding training.

From BBC

FireAid was a huge undertaking to bring Live Nation and AEG together to produce a massive concert in response to massive devastation.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• affair 
• effort 
• enterprise 
• experiment 
• operation 
• project 
• proposition 
• task 
• venture