undertaking

American  

[uhn-der-tey-king, uhn-der-tey-, uhn-der-tey-king] / ˌʌn dərˈteɪ kɪŋ, ˈʌn dərˌteɪ-, ˈʌn dərˌteɪ kɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person who undertakes any task or responsibility.

2. a task, enterprise, etc., undertaken.

   Synonyms:

   venture, effort, job, endeavor, project

3. a promise; pledge; guarantee.

4. the business of an undertaker or funeral director.

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undertaking British  

/ ˈʌndəˌteɪkɪŋ /

noun

1. something undertaken; task, venture, or enterprise

2. an agreement to do something

3. the business of an undertaker

4. informal the practice of overtaking on an inner lane a vehicle which is travelling in an outer lane

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Etymology

Origin of undertaking

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; under, taking

Example Sentences

"Recent decisions were bound by certain undertakings and my resignation enables the Adelaide Festival, as an organisation, to refresh its leadership and its approach to these circumstances," she said.

From Barron's

A year later, there have been no concrete steps to improve the water network, something that would be a costly undertaking.

From Los Angeles Times

To help meet demand in a sustainable way, we are undertaking work to develop a new model that considers access across settings and wrap around support to help and sustain weight loss.

From BBC

Retirees need to learn a lot before undertaking the task.

From MarketWatch

Her website still says that she began her teaching career in further education "whilst undertaking a PhD at the University of Liverpool".

From BBC

Related Words

• affair
• effort
• enterprise
• experiment
• operation
• project
• proposition
• task
• venture