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 Word Forms

• misassignment noun
• nonassignment noun
• reassignment 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

Young’s first issues at the DEA arose in 2012, while he was on assignment in Tokyo.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I feel better about being able to throw harder,” Sasaki said in August, as he headed out on a long-awaited rehab assignment, “especially because I’m completely pain free.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"We understood the assignment and what was in front of us," Wilson said.

Read more on Barron's

While the president’s authority to grant clemency for federal crimes is virtually unfettered, the power to impose vengeance via prison assignments isn’t clear.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A top reporter for the Guardian in London, she’s just back from an assignment during which a female source was purposely drowned.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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