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

Detectives have been undertaking a UK-wide investigation to identify the owners of each of the dead dogs.

From BBC

The London-listed miner warned earlier this month that it was undertaking a review of the business that could lead to the write-down.

From The Wall Street Journal

"But it is a big undertaking," he adds.

From BBC

But the commissioner insisted that "NASA will continue to work with Boeing, as we do all of our partners that are undertaking test flights."

From Barron's

“We’re undertaking some preliminary engineering works, which are really important just to better size up the project.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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