Showing results for "undertaking"

• present participle of undertake.

undertaking

American  

[uhn-der-tey-king, uhn-der-tey-, uhn-der-tey-king] / ˌʌn dərˈteɪ kɪŋ, ˈʌn dərˌteɪ-, ˈʌn dərˌteɪ kɪŋ /

noun

undertakings plural

1. the act of a person who undertakes any task or responsibility.

2. a task, enterprise, etc., undertaken.

   Synonyms:

   venture, effort, job, endeavor, project

3. a promise; pledge; guarantee.

4. the business of an undertaker or funeral director.

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undertaking British  

/ ˈʌndəˌteɪkɪŋ /

noun

1. something undertaken; task, venture, or enterprise

2. an agreement to do something

3. the business of an undertaker

4. informal the practice of overtaking on an inner lane a vehicle which is travelling in an outer lane

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• undertakings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of undertaking

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at under, taking

Explanation

Painting a house is a serious undertaking––it looks simple but involves a lot of preparation and hard work. An undertaking is a job or a task you commit to. The word also can mean the profession of funeral management. When you take something under consideration, it means you're not necessarily going to do it, you're just going to think about it. When you take something on, you've undertaken to actually do it. The word undertaking suggests something that involves quite a bit of work. Organizing an Oxfam hunger-day at your school is a significant undertaking, but it's worth all the effort.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

undertaking undertakings

The only comparable alternative would involve sending spacecraft directly to another star, an undertaking that would require enormous amounts of time and money.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

Shopping for a home loan on top of the strenuous process of shopping for the house itself might sound exhausting — but buyers who skip this undertaking often end up considerably overpaying for their mortgage.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

It should have been a relatively straightforward undertaking to navigate from the area where Goforth was riding to the spot where the vehicle was parked, especially for someone familiar with the area, Buelna added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Now, Apple is accusing OpenAI of undertaking a "strategy to extract Apple's confidential information".

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

The human species is now undertaking a great venture that if successful will be as important as the colonization of the land or the descent from the trees.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

"Ofwat has formally accepted an enforceable package of undertakings from Severn Trent Water to ensure the company returns to compliance," a spokesperson said.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

As hotels benefit from the exposure, film-crew takeovers can be logistically complicated undertakings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

They need to be able to talk with customers, assess the ethics of new undertakings and prototype projects with a design-oriented mindset.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 11, 2026

"Recent decisions were bound by certain undertakings and my resignation enables the Adelaide Festival, as an organisation, to refresh its leadership and its approach to these circumstances," she said.

From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026

That was the most lamentable of her numerous frustrated undertakings.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• affair
• effort
• enterprise
• experiment
• operation
• project
• proposition
• task
• venture