assignment
Americannoun
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something assigned, as a particular task or duty.
She completed the assignment and went on to other jobs.
- Synonyms:
- job, obligation
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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
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an act of assigning; appointment.
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Law.
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the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer.
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a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors.
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noun
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something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task
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a position or post to which a person is assigned
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the act of assigning or state of being assigned
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law
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the transfer to another of a right, interest, or title to property, esp personal property
assignment of a lease
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the document effecting such a transfer
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the right, interest, or property transferred
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law (formerly) the transfer, esp by an insolvent debtor, of property in trust for the benefit of his creditors
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logic a function that associates specific values with each variable in a formal expression
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history a system (1789–1841) whereby a convict could become the unpaid servant of a freeman
Synonym Usage
See task.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of assignment
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English assignament, from Medieval Latin assignāmentum. See assign, -ment
Explanation
Whether you’re an international spy with a new mission or a high school student with math homework — when you get an assignment, you’d better do it! An assignment is a task that someone in authority has asked you to do. The word assignment is just the noun form of the common verb assign, which you use when you want to give someone a duty or a job. When you assign something, that something is called an assignment. The word can also refer to the act of distributing something. If you are distributing new office furniture at work, you might say, “Assignment of the new chairs will begin tomorrow.”
Vocabulary lists containing assignment
The Dawes Act
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Education and Academics, List 2
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"Two Left Feet, Two Left Hands, and Too Left on the Bench"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the more unavailable your manager is, the less likely they will be looking for you — or springing a last-minute assignment on you.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 30, 2026
I recently prepared myself for the hardest reporting assignment of my career: sitting still for 15 minutes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
On Monday Z and the panel got a brutal assignment: filling a long stretch of time during an epic rain delay in Philadelphia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
At first glance, the assignment to turn Lestat into a rock star seemed straightforward.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2026
“Miss Kemp already wrote this year’s assignment on the board,” I said, “and it isn’t a science project.”
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
