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assignment

[uh-sahyn-muhnt]
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noun

something assigned, as a particular task or duty: She completed the assignment and went on to other jobs.
a position of responsibility, post of duty, or the like, to which one is appointed: He left for his assignment in the Middle East.
an act of assigning; appointment.
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.

Origin of assignment

1350–1400; Middle English assignament < Medieval Latin assignāmentum. See assign, -ment
Related formsmis·as·sign·ment, nounnon·as·sign·ment, nounre·as·sign·ment, noun
Can be confusedassignment assignation

Synonyms for assignment

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR assignment ON THESAURUS.COM
1, 2. obligation, job. 1. See task.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for assignment

duty, chore, appointment, practice, job, drill, position, post, stint, homework, selection, choice, allocation, distribution, nomination, beat, commission, charge, mission, attribution

Examples from the Web for assignment

Contemporary Examples of assignment

Historical Examples of assignment

  • You've got your berth, you've got your money, you're going to get your passport, and you've got your assignment.

    Plotting in Pirate Seas

    Francis Rolt-Wheeler

  • It was at noon of the third day he had been at work when John was given his first assignment.

    Spring Street

    James H. Richardson

  • One of the detectives detailed to this assignment was Hyman Ginsburg.

    From Place to Place

    Irvin S. Cobb

  • He had given me the assignment of putting antigrav units into production.

    Sense from Thought Divide

    Mark Irvin Clifton

  • And it can show us that a nation's assignment of a mission to itself is not a sudden growth.

    Chosen Peoples

    Israel Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for assignment

assignment

noun

something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task
a position or post to which a person is assigned
the act of assigning or state of being assigned
law
  1. the transfer to another of a right, interest, or title to property, esp personal propertyassignment of a lease
  2. the document effecting such a transfer
  3. the right, interest, or property transferred
law (formerly) the transfer, esp by an insolvent debtor, of property in trust for the benefit of his creditors
logic a function that associates specific values with each variable in a formal expression
Australian history a system (1789–1841) whereby a convict could become the unpaid servant of a freeman
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for assignment
n.

late 14c., "order, request, directive," from Old French assignement "(legal) assignment (of dower, etc.)," from Late Latin assignamentum, noun of action from Latin assignare (see assign). Meaning "appointment to office" is mid-15c.; that of "a task assigned" (to someone) is from c.1848.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper