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• mission
  mission

  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.
• Mission
  Mission

  noun

  a city in S Texas.

mission

¹ American  

[mish-uhn] / ˈmɪʃ ən /

noun

• missions
  plural

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

2. the business with which such a group is charged.

3. any important task or duty that is assigned, allotted, or self-imposed.

   Our mission is to find the child a safe home.

4. an important goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation.

   She has finally found her mission in life.

5. a sending or being sent for some duty or purpose.

6. those sent.

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

8. Military. an operational task, usually assigned by a higher headquarters.

   a mission to bomb the bridge.

9. Aerospace. an operation designed to carry out the goals of a specific program.

   a space mission.

10. 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.

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

12. a similar establishment in any region.

13. the district assigned to a missionary.

14. missionary duty or work.

15. an organization for carrying on missionary work.

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

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

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

19. a series of special religious services for increasing religious devotion and converting unbelievers.

    to preach a mission.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a mission.

2. (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.

Mission ² American  

[mish-uhn] / ˈmɪʃ ən /

noun

1. a city in S Texas.

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mission British  

/ ˈmɪʃən /

noun

1. a specific task or duty assigned to a person or group of people

   their mission was to irrigate the desert

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

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

4. 1. a special embassy sent to a foreign country for a specific purpose

   2. a permanent legation

5. 1. a group of people sent by a religious body, esp a Christian church, to a foreign country to do religious and social work

   2. the campaign undertaken by such a group

6. 1. the work or calling of a missionary

   2. a building or group of buildings in which missionary work is performed

   3. the area assigned to a particular missionary

7. the dispatch of aircraft or spacecraft to achieve a particular task

8. a church or chapel that has no incumbent of its own

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

10. (modifier) of or relating to an ecclesiastical mission

    a mission station

11. a long and difficult process

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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• missional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• missions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mission

First recorded in 1590–1600; 1925–30 mission for def. 8; from Latin missiōn-, stem of missiō “dismissal,” literally, “a sending,” equivalent to miss(us) (past participle of mittere “to send”) + -iō -ion

Explanation

A mission is a special quest, one that involves more effort than, say, a trip to the corner store. If you were to drive all around the state searching garage sales for porcelain cats, you could say you were on a mission. Mission comes from a Latin word that means “to send.” It was first used by Jesuit missionaries who sent members of their order overseas to establish schools and churches. Foreign travel is still associated with the word. When diplomats and humanitarian workers travel abroad, we often refer to those trips as missions.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mission Mission missions

Delmer’s mission was to undermine enemy morale and induce uncertainty among Nazi leadership while ensuring his messages didn’t betray their true source.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

There were only arid steppes in sight when a small plane took off from an airport in southern Kazakhstan, embarking on a delicate mission: bringing rain for the scorched earth below.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Working with its partners, ESA was responsible for developing and qualifying the Ariane 5 adaptations needed for the Webb mission and for procuring the launch service from Arianespace.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

The campaign is an important part of preparing the spacecraft for its Moon mission.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Ridge moved forward like a man on a mission.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Rents are rising fastest in neighborhoods including Mission Bay, a waterfront area with newer buildings where OpenAI has offices, and SoMa, a former warehouse district where Anthropic has offices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

The Trailblazers will play in the Mission League along with Harvard-Westlake, which has hired professional flag player and prominent club coach Asha Prithiraj to guide the Wolverines through their inaugural season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

According to Elisabetta Iorfida, ESA's Swarm Mission Scientist, the Pacific reversal challenges the idea that stable westward circulation dominates the outer core.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

The pair studied together and shared a room at the missionary organisation Youth With A Mission in Switzerland in 2013.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Mission accomplished, he turned and ambled farther into the park.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

La Cruz Roja Colombiana is looking to provide essential medical care, help fix the failing telecommunications networks, give access to potable water, connect families and aid in rescue missions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

A major part of that effort involves commercial partners Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, and Voyager Lunar Systems, which are preparing landers for delivery missions through 2028.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

While the U.S. denies Iran has control of the strait, it has only occasionally risked sending warships into the Persian Gulf during the conflict, and then only for brief missions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Long space missions can force small crews to endure isolation, cramped living conditions, and intense psychological pressure for months at a time.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

I’d been surprised to learn that she and Sam were permanent residents of the mountain and would continue training alongside us when they weren’t being sent on missions.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin