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:
Painted ladies undertake one of the world's most remarkable insect migrations, travelling from Africa to the UK over several generations, crossing the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 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
This autumn, the Sussexes are expected to undertake some more public charitable works.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
He couldn’t possibly have considered the kind of move he was about to undertake.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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
The United States also undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Every night, he reads murder mysteries to them, a ritual he undertakes primarily for his own pleasure.
From Salon ● May 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
The Chinese operation also undertook a campaign of mass reporting and bot-network amplification against journalists from the Uyghur diaspora, according to Anthropic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 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
Following their victory, Eurovision organisers undertook a "full assessment and feasibility study" to decide whether the 2023 contest could proceed in Kyiv.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Department of Education undertook a monumental project called the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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
The owner of a nearby shop told news agency ANI that it was under a 100-year lease and that the leaseholder had undertaken excavation work in the basement to increase their income.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
“You must understand,” he said, “Cambodia was undertaken for very complicated reasons.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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
"It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the sovereign, and are no longer working members of the royal family," it said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 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
For one thing, acquiring the myriad permits needed from federal, state and local governments would be a major undertaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
“Had Mr. Carey been solicited to such an undertaking, what would he have demanded?”
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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.
