errand

American  

[er-uhnd] / ˈɛr ənd /

noun

• errands
  plural

1. 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

2. the purpose of such a trip.

   He finished his errands.

   Synonyms:

   chore, assignment, task, mission

3. a special mission or function entrusted to a messenger; commission.

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errand British  

/ ˈɛrənd /

noun

1. a short trip undertaken to perform a necessary task or commission (esp in the phrase run errands )

2. the purpose or object of such a trip

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errand Idioms  

1. see fool's errand; run an errand.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• errands
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

errand errands

During a recent busy week, I had my groceries and prescriptions delivered to my door; that errand would once have required multiple trips to the store.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Attempting to adjust your gold exposure in response to external factors is most likely a fool’s errand.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

My husband and I burst out laughing – not at that scene, or the clerk’s impromptu theatrics, but at this injection of delight into an otherwise mundane errand.

From Salon ● May 2, 2026

Trying to assign an exact reason to Bitcoin’s collapse can be a fool’s errand, but one risk increasingly cited by short sellers is the rise of quantum computing, S3 said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

Paul Jennings spent his earliest years doing small chores—“a boy under his mother’s feet in the big house enlisted as errand runner.”

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

During school hours, the role includes managing schedules, coordinating appointments and activities, running errands and overseeing day-to-day household administration—then transitions to child care when the kids return home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Many of you are doing it responsibly, too: The overwhelming majority are taking care of housework or laundry, while running errands was the second-most common piece of personal business being done during professional time.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

They often show him doing everyday activities such as "munchie runs" to supermarkets or shopping malls, visiting restaurants or running other errands.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

You can walk around and get a lot of errands done.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

Not only did they protect him, but he used them to run errands, serve as chauffeurs and occasional dinner companions, and be available to do whatever else he wanted at any hour.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady