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
-
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:
"As soon as the minister was made aware of these issues, she instructed the director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service to undertake an urgent investigation into these matters."
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Rivas wanted reassurance that district staff had made sure that these projects are the right ones to undertake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
If a new queen survives until her first brood emerges as adult workers, though, then the odds are in her favour as she no longer needs to undertake risky foraging.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
"The oil sector is only one part of the immense reconstruction we must undertake in Venezuela," she said in a video statement.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
He pulled distastefully at his grey shirt and wondered whether he might undertake the adventure of washing it.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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
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
The United States undertakes to issue all necessary permits and licenses on this basis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
The eleventh point of the document notes that the US "undertakes to make fully available frozen or restricted funds" once the MoU is signed and that procedures will be agreed upon during negotiations.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Whatever he undertakes, he commits himself to it fully, absolutely.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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
"We undertook this study to determine if vanillin, a flavor chemical often used in e-cigarettes at high concentrations, could adversely affect the development of young embryos in humans."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
In 2018, for example, the company undertook a major reorganization of senior management based on the principle of division of labor by comparative advantage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
"Of course it was Levy who undertook that action, but the state could definitely have prevented it so it has to bear that responsibility," she told Radio 4.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Why they later undertook the hard and perilous crossing of the mountains into Eriador is no longer certain.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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
"The charitable work of the duke and duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity. In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests."
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
Aled Jones-Griffith, CEO of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, said there had been a "significant growth" in the number of young people who had undertaken construction.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
This direct transmission into milk had been demonstrated experimentally for heptachlor in 1955, long before the control program was undertaken, and was later reported for dieldrin, also used in the fire ant program.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Enter Reinsve and Stan, an ideal pair of leads capable of providing the understated, baseline emotion that Mungiu requires to pull off an undertaking as tricky as “Fjord.”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Student housing is a new undertaking for LACCD, and the District is learning from each step of this work,” Hidalgo said in an email.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Moustapha told the BBC that his wife had travelled to Egypt to look after her elderly, sick mother, who had been undertaking 18-hour round-trips to take food to el-Shazly's two brothers in detention.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
The Takaichi administration is undertaking a major update of the national defence strategy this year in the face of China's expanding military ambitions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
The Humbug speculated on how he’d ever become involved in such a hazardous undertaking.
From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
