assignment

[ uh-sahyn-muhnt ]

/ əˈsaɪn mənt /

noun

something assigned, as a particular task or duty: She completed the assignment and went on to other jobs.

a position of responsibility, post of duty, or the like, to which one is appointed: He left for his assignment in the Middle East.

an act of assigning; appointment.

Law.

the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer.
a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors.

Nearby words

Origin of assignment

1350–1400; Middle English assignament < Medieval Latin assignāmentum. See assign, -ment

SYNONYMS FOR assignment

1, 2. obligation, job. 1. See task.

Related formsmis·as·sign·ment, nounnon·as·sign·ment, nounre·as·sign·ment, noun

Can be confusedassignment assignation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for reassignment

Though this might easily have been grounds for dismissal or reassignment, nothing of the sort happened.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor|S. C. Gwynne|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hoover mulled it over and wrote back canceling his reassignment.
J. Edgar Hoover Unmasked|Sandra McElwaine|November 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Any infraction of the rules could bring demotion or reassignment to another city, which proved tough on families and very costly.
J. Edgar Hoover Unmasked|Sandra McElwaine|November 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Reassignment to a distant station is of course a day-to-day possibility in the life of any military officer.
The Armed Forces Officer|U. S. Department of Defense

Further delay, he predicted, would cause confusion in reassignment of some 4,000 troops.
Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965|Morris J. MacGregor, Jr.
No doubt they'd made their last report to Taber and had headed back to Washington for reassignment.
Ten From Infinity|Paul W. Fairman
We have journeyed together for two whole terms; there is only one more between you and reassignment.
The Varmint|Owen Johnson
Then he shoved the magazine into his pocket and trudged on toward the veteran's reassignment headquarters.
Victory|Lester del Rey

British Dictionary definitions for reassignment

assignment

/ (əˈsaɪnmənt) /

noun

something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task

a position or post to which a person is assigned

the act of assigning or state of being assigned

law

the transfer to another of a right, interest, or title to property, esp personal propertyassignment of a lease
the document effecting such a transfer
the right, interest, or property transferred

law (formerly) the transfer, esp by an insolvent debtor, of property in trust for the benefit of his creditors

logic a function that associates specific values with each variable in a formal expression

Australian history a system (1789–1841) whereby a convict could become the unpaid servant of a freeman

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

Word Origin and History for reassignment

assignment

late 14c., "order, request, directive," from Old French assignement "(legal) assignment (of dower, etc.)," from Late Latin assignamentum, noun of action from Latin assignare (see assign). Meaning "appointment to office" is mid-15c.; that of "a task assigned" (to someone) is from c.1848.