mission

[ mish-uhn ]

/ ˈmɪʃ ən /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for mission on Thesaurus.com

noun

a group or committee of persons sent to a foreign country to conduct negotiations, establish relations, provide scientific and technical assistance, or the like.

the business with which such a group is charged.

any important task or duty that is assigned, allotted, or self-imposed: Our mission is to find the child a safe home.

an important goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation: She has finally found her mission in life.

a sending or being sent for some duty or purpose.

those sent.

Also called foreign mission . a permanent diplomatic establishment abroad; embassy; legation.

Military. an operational task, usually assigned by a higher headquarters: a mission to bomb the bridge.

Aerospace. an operation designed to carry out the goals of a specific program: a space mission.

Also called foreign mission . a group of persons sent by a church to carry on religious work, especially evangelization in foreign lands, and often to establish schools, hospitals, etc.

an establishment of missionaries in a foreign land; a missionary church or station.

a similar establishment in any region.

the district assigned to a missionary.

missionary duty or work.

an organization for carrying on missionary work.

Also called rescue mission. a shelter operated by a church or other organization offering food, lodging, and other assistance to needy persons.

missions, organized missionary work or activities in any country or region.

a church or a region dependent on a larger church or denomination.

a series of special religious services for increasing religious devotion and converting unbelievers: to preach a mission.

adjective

of or relating to a mission.

(usually initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a style of American furniture of the early 20th century, created in supposed imitation of the furnishings of the Spanish missions of California and characterized by the use of dark, stained wood, by heaviness, and by extreme plainness.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of mission

1590–1600; 1925–30 for def. 8; <Latin missiōn- (stem of missiō) a sending off, equivalent to miss(us) (past participle of mittere to send) + -iōn--ion

OTHER WORDS FROM mission

mis·sion·al, adjective

Words nearby mission

missing, missing fundamental, missing link, missing mass, missiology, mission, missionary, missionary apostolic, missionary position, Missionary Ridge, mission control

Other definitions for mission (2 of 2)

Mission

[ mish-uhn ]

/ ˈmɪʃ ən /

noun

a city in S Texas.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use mission in a sentence

I think we need a new agency whose sole mission is fire risk reduction.
Suppressing fires has failed. Here’s what California needs to do instead.|James Temple|September 17, 2020|MIT Technology Review
If that’s the core mission, stopping the growth engine is the worst thing you can do, you end up treading water.
‘We’re about hiring journalists’: Insider Inc. launches third global news hub in Singapore|Lucinda Southern|September 17, 2020|Digiday
NASA already has two prospective Venus missions in the works.
We need to go to Venus as soon as possible|Neel Patel|September 16, 2020|MIT Technology Review
America has successfully launched national innovation missions time and again.
To confront the climate crisis, the US should launch a National Energy Innovation Mission|Amy Nordrum|September 15, 2020|MIT Technology Review

I didn’t care where I had to look—I was on a mission for the National Zoo.
How to hunt for star-nosed moles (and their holes)|Kenneth Catania|September 15, 2020|Popular-Science
We knew that many academics today would consider our mission naïve.
American Democracy Under Threat for 250 Years|Jedediah Purdy|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As the fight raged on, Ahmed and the three women fighters who were part of the mission, sent out calls for help.
The Brothers Who Ambushed ISIS|Mohammed A. Salih|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some pilots consider the infrared marker to be crucial to the close air-support mission to support ground troops.
Newest U.S. Stealth Fighter ‘10 Years Behind’ Older Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I asked him to describe the U.S. mission that will likely revert back to the embassy it was more than a half century ago.
Meet America’s Next Ambassador to Cuba|Eleanor Clift|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His deficiencies and self-doubts, amid his epochal mission of liberation, are precisely what make him interesting.
Meet Moses the Swashbuckling Israelite|James Romm|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sad end of the mission to King M'Bongo has been narrated in the body of this work.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Martini was on his mission to Vienna; but another valet was put into the chariot to support the Duke.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The result of this mission was eminently successful; a special treaty was drawn up and Spain sold Louisiana to France.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
The conclusion is reached that, despite these drawbacks, the Jesuit mission in Canada has made a hopeful beginning.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Naturally the conversation fell on the all-absorbing topic of the day and the object of his mission.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for mission

mission

/ (ˈmɪʃən) /

noun

a specific task or duty assigned to a person or group of peopletheir mission was to irrigate the desert

a person's vocation (often in the phrase mission in life)

a group of persons representing or working for a particular country, business, etc, in a foreign country

a special embassy sent to a foreign country for a specific purpose
US a permanent legation

a group of people sent by a religious body, esp a Christian church, to a foreign country to do religious and social work
the campaign undertaken by such a group

the work or calling of a missionary
a building or group of buildings in which missionary work is performed
the area assigned to a particular missionary

the dispatch of aircraft or spacecraft to achieve a particular task

a church or chapel that has no incumbent of its own

a charitable centre that offers shelter, aid, or advice to the destitute or underprivileged

(modifier) of or relating to an ecclesiastical missiona mission station

Southern African a long and difficult process

(modifier) US (of furniture) in the style of the early Spanish missions of the southwestern US

verb

(tr) to direct a mission to or establish a mission in (a given region)

Word Origin for mission

C16: from Latin missiō, from mittere to send

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

mission

Origin of mission

OTHER WORDS FROM mission

Words nearby mission

Other definitions for mission (2 of 2)

Words related to mission

How to use mission in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mission

Word Origin for mission