undertaking

[uhn-der-tey-king, uhn-der-tey- for 1–3; uhn-der-tey-king for 4]

noun

the act of a person who undertakes any task or responsibility.
a task, enterprise, etc., undertaken.
a promise; pledge; guarantee.

the business of an undertaker or funeral director.

Origin of undertaking

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

Synonyms for undertaking

2. project, endeavor, job, effort, venture.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for undertakings

proposition, affair, task, project, experiment, venture, enterprise, operation, effort, shop, essay, play, work, happening, business, thing, engagement, move, game, deal

Examples from the Web for undertakings

Historical Examples of undertakings

Does the human labour-force which carries on their undertakings belong to them?
Freeland
Theodor Hertzka
But all that will finish soon, for all undertakings come to an end.
The Memoirs of Madame de Montespan, Complete
Madame La Marquise De Montespan
Any one of her undertakings was sufficient for one woman, but she compassed them all.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine
The undertakings of a contract may be for the existence of a fact in the present or in the future.
The Common Law
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Some he makes sick, while others he causes to be unfortunate in their undertakings.
Short Sketches from Oldest America
John Driggs

British Dictionary definitions for undertakings

undertaking

noun

something undertaken; task, venture, or enterprise
an agreement to do something
the business of an undertaker
informal the practice of overtaking on an inner lane a vehicle which is travelling in an outer lane

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for undertakings

undertaking

"enterprise," early 15c., verbal noun from undertake (v.).