errand
Americannoun
-
errands
plural
-
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
-
the purpose of such a trip.
He finished his errands.
- Synonyms:
- chore, assignment, task, mission
-
a special mission or function entrusted to a messenger; commission.
noun
-
a short trip undertaken to perform a necessary task or commission (esp in the phrase run errands )
-
the purpose or object of such a trip
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of errand
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. )
Explanation
An errand is a short trip to fulfill some small business. When you’re running errands, you’re making a bunch of these all at once. The noun errand can refer to the mission of the trip itself. If the lines are always long at the bank, then banking may be your least favorite errand. If you are off on a wild goose chase, you may be out on a fool's errand. If you are taking food or clothing to someone in need, then you are on an errand of mercy.
Vocabulary lists containing errand
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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.
See Examples For:
Completing a simple errand turned into the worst day of their lives.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
But Kuzichkin was convinced that, as in Afghanistan, this was a fool’s errand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Ultimately, trying to clone Obama is likely to be a fool’s errand.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
Anhor The Great had so many pass breakups that counting would’ve been a fool’s errand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
I’ve never been to the farmers market, or out on an errand, so I guess the last time would have been when I was six.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Sigrid, a fourth-grader, is also allowed to do some errands alone in her neighborhood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It's what her Gen Z job candidates are doing, she said, warning it makes it look like the interview is "just a stop on your list of errands for the day".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
People have been using text messages and other mobile interfaces to have A.I. models run internet errands for them for a while.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Investigators found that Chavez-DeRemer repeatedly used federal employees for personal errands, including sending her personal aide and executive assistant to her home during the workday to organize her bedroom closet.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
The flat was only ten minutes away from the house, so I was always around to drop in to help with errands or have dinner once in a while.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
