task

[ task, tahsk ]

See synonyms for: task tasked tasking tasks on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a matter of considerable labor or difficulty.
Obsolete. a tax or impost.

verb (used with object)

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

Obsolete. to tax.

adjective

of or relating to a task or tasks: A task chart will help organize the department's work.

Idioms about task

take to task, to call to account; blame; censure: The teacher took them to task for not doing their homework.

Origin of task

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

synonym study For task

1, 2. 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.

Other words for task

1, 2	job, assignment

See synonyms for task on Thesaurus.com

Other words from task

taskless, adjective
subtask, noun
un·tasked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use task in a sentence

Some major conferences have scrambled to reschedule missed games, but that task is becoming increasingly difficult as the season progresses and the list of games that need to be made up grows each week.
Maryland, with 15 more players and its coach positive for coronavirus, cancels Michigan State game | Emily Giambalvo | November 19, 2020 | Washington Post
She goes around to each of the grandchildren, trying to make sure they’re logging on, staying on task.
The Learning Curve: Even With Schools Closed, State of District ‘Unstoppable’ | Will Huntsberry | November 19, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
It made him feel as though she only asked us to visit to get these tasks done.
Miss Manners: Family visit becomes one big project | Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin | November 19, 2020 | Washington Post
Its task is to decide whether to certify the results of Wayne County’s elections and pass the decision on to a similar board at the state level.
For three hours, an obscure county board in Michigan was at the center of U.S. politics | Kayla Ruble, Tom Hamburger, David Fahrenthold | November 19, 2020 | Washington Post
They then fine-tuned the model—in other words, trained it further—on the specific task of summarization.
An AI helps you summarize the latest in AI | Karen Hao | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology Review

Most female peshmerga fighters were tasked with staffing checkpoints and guarding bases alongside their male counterparts.
Embedding With the Women Who Are Kicking ISIS Ass | Susannah George | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
There is no doubt that some unfortunate reporter, tasked with working the weekend shift, would have looked into them.
The IRS Email Double Standard | Matt Lewis | November 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He is the drone official, the bland-faced human-resources manager tasked with dropping the axe.
Scott Walker: Too Boring to Beat | Ana Marie Cox | November 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“The agency tasked with protecting the highest office in our land should be the crown jewel of federal law enforcement,” he said.
Why Secret Service Chief Julia Pierson Was Shown the Door | Tim Mak | October 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Looking at the new season, we now have Coulson as the new S.H.I.E.L.D. director, tasked with rebuilding the agency.
The Leaner, Meaner Season 2 of ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ | Jason Lynch | September 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Ethel did not understand what mental fatigue was, for her active, vigorous spirit had never been tasked beyond its powers.
The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge
It cast its searching eye into the most abstruse inquiries which ever tasked the famous minds of the world.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John Lord
Imagination is tasked to its utmost stretch to portray sentiments and passions in the way that makes the deepest impression.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John Lord
Their speculations pertained to the loftiest subjects that ever tasked the intellect of man.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John Lord
But the ear is not tasked to identify the songs of the kinglets, as they tarry briefly with us in spring.
A Year in the Fields | John Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for task

task

/ (tɑːsk) /

noun

a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or chore
an unpleasant or difficult job or duty

any piece of work
take to task to criticize or reprove

verb(tr)

to assign a task to
to subject to severe strain; tax

Origin of task

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

Derived forms of task

tasker, noun
taskless, adjective

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with task

task

see take to task.

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