undertake
Americanverb (used with object)
-
undertakes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
undertook,
past
-
undertaken,
past participle
-
undertaking
present participle
-
to take upon oneself, as a task, performance, etc.; attempt.
She undertook the job of answering all the mail.
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to promise, agree, or obligate oneself (followed by an infinitive).
The married couple undertook to love, honor, and cherish each other.
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to warrant or guarantee (followed by a clause).
The sponsors undertake that their candidate meets all the requirements.
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to take in charge; assume the duty of attending to.
The lawyer undertook a new case.
verb (used without object)
-
undertakes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
undertook,
past
-
undertaken,
past participle
-
undertaking
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to contract to or commit oneself to (something) or (to do something)
to undertake a job
to undertake to deliver the goods
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(tr) to attempt to; agree to start
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(tr) to take (someone) in charge
-
archaic to make oneself responsible (for)
-
(tr) to promise
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
undertakesimple
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undertakessimple
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have undertakenperfect
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has undertakenperfect
-
am undertakingprogressive
-
are undertakingprogressive
-
is undertakingprogressive
-
have been undertakingperfect progressive
-
has been undertakingperfect progressive
Past
-
undertooksimple
-
had undertakenperfect
-
was undertakingprogressive
-
were undertakingprogressive
-
had been undertakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of undertake
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English undertaken; see under-, take
Explanation
When you undertake a task or challenge, you attempt to accomplish it. If you want to undertake a verbal challenge right now, try saying “sushi chef” ten times quickly without messing up. Way back in the 13th century, undertake meant “seize” or “entrap.” Of course, the meaning has shifted significantly since then, and we hope you don’t feel entrapped when you decide to undertake a project. However, undertake does convey a level of commitment and involvement that’s somewhat stronger than the words try or attempt might suggest.
Vocabulary lists containing undertake
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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The Mayflower Compact (1620)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"You have to invest more money, undertake much greater maintenance efforts, and that also means more demanding technical requirements," Juan Carlos Guajardo, founder of the Chilean consultancy Plusmining, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
"Poverty, insecurity and the growing impacts of climate change drive many to undertake this journey, despite mounting instability across the Middle East," the IOM said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Modern European and American eels undertake extraordinary migrations, traveling thousands of kilometers from freshwater rivers to reproduce in the Sargasso Sea.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
Iran has a record of using criminal proxies to undertake covert operations on European soil, usually targeting Jewish sites or dissidents of the regime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
There was no money whatsoever in the city’s budget for such costly endeavors, plus no desire to undertake them.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Andrew Durand undertakes the challenging central role: He plays Benjamin from birth as an elderly man all the way through to childhood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Unitree’s humanoid robots can walk, run and climb and “can imitate & reinforce the learning drive” said the company, referring to algorithms that train the robot’s artificial intelligence as it undertakes tasks.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Point 11 of the MoU detailed that the "United States of America undertakes to make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
In the memorandum of understanding, the United States undertakes to "terminate all types of sanctions against" Iran, and to "make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets" of Iran.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
A Meecham gets the best grades, wins the most awards, excels in sports, is the most popular, and is always found near the top no matter what endeavor he undertakes.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Boeing, which expects to commence 737 MAX 10 deliveries in 2027, said it undertook more than 2,000 hours of flight testing and supplied tens of thousands of pages of documentation.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Prosecutors charged Linton under an “implied malice” theory, meaning Linton is guilty if she knew her actions were dangerous to human life but undertook them anyway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Concern stems from recent reports that Anthropic blocked use of AI tools to develop bioweapons and that swarms of AI bots autonomously undertook massive hacking operations.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
During Kaur’s tenure as chief financial officer, CEO Elhedery undertook a sweeping overhaul of the business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
What his sons and their contemporaries undertook, instead, was a massive spring clean of musical style and a project to celebrate not earnestness but wit, not inventiveness but elegance, not piety but beauty.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
"Further work would have to be undertaken to make sure that all environmental concerns today are met and adequately responded to, but something has to be done about congestion."
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
That revision was undertaken with analytical rigor: The process took two years, involved 35 agencies, incorporated extensive new and existing research, and elicited over 20,000 comments.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The Times’ reporting on restraining orders was undertaken as part of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s Domestic Violence Impact Reporting Fund and engagement initiative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Researchers say it is the most comprehensive examination of a national community of slave traders ever undertaken.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
And not just that, but I’ve now undertaken the task of gender-swapping this brilliant movie, which means people are going to be doubly interested to see what I do with it.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
"A researcher might be able to examine a few thousand Reddit posts by hand, but looking at nearly 150,000 would be an enormous undertaking," says Sehgal.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
Up-close and personal, Eleanor’s camera reveals the massive undertaking of producing a movie at this scale, honing in on small, intricate details to convey her daughter’s meticulousness.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
For at least a year her life "revolved" around trying to recover from their relationship, and she says managing the impact on her mental health will be a lifelong undertaking.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
This was a long, open-ended undertaking that caused friction in the team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
I have gone to each officer of that Regiment demanding that they send a retributive expedition, but none evinces the slightest interest in the undertaking.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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