task

[task, tahsk]

noun

1. a definite piece of work assigned to, falling to, or expected of a person; duty.

   Synonyms: assignment, job

2. any piece of work.

   Synonyms: assignment, job

3. a matter of considerable labor or difficulty.

4. Obsolete.,  a tax or impost.

verb (used with object)

1. to subject to severe or excessive labor or exertion; put a strain upon (powers, resources, etc.).

2. to impose a task on.

3. Obsolete.,  to tax.

adjective

1. of or relating to a task or tasks.

   A task chart will help organize the department's work.

task

/ tɑːsk /

noun

1. a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or chore

2. an unpleasant or difficult job or duty

3. any piece of work

4. to criticize or reprove

verb

1. to assign a task to

2. to subject to severe strain; tax

Other Word Forms

• taskless adjective
• subtask noun
• untasked adjective
• tasker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of task¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun, from Medieval Latin tasca, variant of taxa tax ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of task¹

C13: from Old French tasche, from Medieval Latin tasca, from taxa tax, from Latin taxāre to _tax

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take to task, to call to account; blame; censure.

   The teacher took them to task for not doing their homework.

see take to task.

Synonym Study

Task, chore, job, assignment refer to a definite and specific instance or act of work. Task and chore and, to a lesser extent, job often imply work that is tiresome, arduous, or otherwise unpleasant. Task usually refers to a clearly defined piece of work, sometimes of short or limited duration, assigned to or expected of a person: the task of pacifying angry customers; a difficult, time-consuming task. A chore is a minor task, usually one of several performed as part of a routine, as in farming, and often more tedious than difficult: the daily chore of taking out the garbage; early morning chores of feeding the livestock. Job is the most general of these terms, referring to almost any work or responsibility, including a person's means of earning a living: the job of washing the windows; a well-paying job in advertising. Assignment refers to a specific task allocated to a person by someone in a position of authority: a homework assignment; a reporter's assignment to cover international news.

Example Sentences

FSD is Tesla’s highest-level driver assistance technology that is capable of doing most driving tasks most of the time.

Read more on Barron's

Assuming you make a full recovery, this will be one task that awaits you.

Read more on MarketWatch

“It just seemed like an impossible task,” Thomas said.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The task may not have had the pressure of a five-set thriller, but given Carlos’s visibility as one of the world’s best tennis players, it was not without hazard.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

By 20, he was in the big leagues and was immediately tasked with powering the Blue Jays back to the World Series for the first time since 1993.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• assignment 
• burden 
• business 
• duty 
• effort 
• exercise 
• function 
• project 
• responsibility 
• undertaking 
• work