Showing results for "undertaking"

• present participle of undertake.

undertaking

American  

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

noun

• undertakings
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• undertakings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of undertaking

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

Explanation

Painting a house is a serious undertaking––it looks simple but involves a lot of preparation and hard work. An undertaking is a job or a task you commit to. The word also can mean the profession of funeral management. When you take something under consideration, it means you're not necessarily going to do it, you're just going to think about it. When you take something on, you've undertaken to actually do it. The word undertaking suggests something that involves quite a bit of work. Organizing an Oxfam hunger-day at your school is a significant undertaking, but it's worth all the effort.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

undertaking undertakings

"We don't want Australia to become a safe haven for people who are undertaking foreign interference on behalf of other countries," Barrett said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

The federal government considers Johnson Tract a “critical metals” undertaking because, alongside gold, the ore contains important industrial metals like zinc and copper.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

South Africa's foreign minister wants new rules and "more transparency" to apply to former heads of state undertaking foreign trips.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Still, their top-secret, multiday bash on Cumberland Island, Ga., was a sizable undertaking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Then Mr. Breland said to Sheriff Strider, “Sheriff, sounds to me like you know more about undertaking than some folks around here.”

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

But many cannot survive in the true wild, where large-scale predator control remains an endless battle, and are instead sent to fenced nature reserves, themselves high-maintenance undertakings facing problems like in-breeding and overpopulation.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

There were more than 70 undertakings that delivered annual income of about $1 million or more, ranging from golf clubs to legal settlements, and from crypto businesses to licensing deals.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

In some ways, the nature of our undertakings is similar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

"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 ● Jan. 12, 2026

Intoxicated by the evidence of the miracle, he forgot at that moment about the frustration of his delirious undertakings and Melquíades' body, abandoned to the appetite of the squids.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

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