Adjacent Words

Task definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

T`ASK, n.
1. Business imposed by another, often a definite quantity or amount of labor. Each man has his task. When he has performed his task, his time is his own. Exodus 5.
2. Business; employment.
His mental powers were equal to greater tasks.
3. Burdensome employment.
To take to task, to reprove; to reprimand; as, to take one to task for idleness.
T`ASK, v.t.
1. To impose a task; to assign to one a definite amount of business or labor.
2. To burden with some employment; to require to perform.
There task thy maids, and exercise the loom.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; "he prepared for great undertakings" [syn: undertaking, project, task, labor]
2: a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee; "estimates of the city's loss on that job ranged as high as a million dollars"; "the job of repairing the engine took several hours"; "the endless task of classifying the samples"; "the farmer's morning chores" [syn: job, task, chore] v
1: assign a task to; "I tasked him with looking after the children"
2: use to the limit; "you are taxing my patience" [syn: tax, task]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English taske, from Middle French dialect (Picardy, Flanders) tasque, from Medieval Latin tasca tax or service imposed by a feudal superior, alteration of *taxa, from taxare to tax Date: 14th century 1. a. a usually assigned piece of work often to be finished within a certain time b. something hard or unpleasant that has to be done c. duty, function 2. subjection to adverse criticism ; reprimand — used in the expressions to take, call, or bring to task Synonyms: task, duty, job, chore, stint, assignment mean a piece of work to be done. task implies work imposed by a person in authority or an employer or by circumstance <charged with a variety of tasks>. duty implies an obligation to perform or responsibility for performance <the duties of a lifeguard>. job applies to a piece of work voluntarily performed; it may sometimes suggest difficulty or importance <the job of turning the company around>. chore implies a minor routine activity necessary for maintaining a household or farm <every child was assigned chores>. stint implies a carefully allotted or measured quantity of assigned work or service <a 2-month stint as a reporter>. assignment implies a definite limited task assigned by one in authority <a reporter's assignment>. II. transitive verb Date: 14th century 1. to assign a task to <employees tasked with updating the files> 2. obsolete to impose a tax on 3. to oppress with great labor <tasks his mind with petty details>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. a piece of work to be done or undertaken. --v.tr. 1 make great demands on (a person's powers etc.). 2 assign a task to. Phrases and idioms: take to task rebuke, scold. task force (or group) 1 Mil. an armed force organized for a special operation. 2 a unit specially organized for a task. Etymology: ME f. ONF tasque = OF tasche f. med.L tasca, perh. f. taxa f. L taxare TAX

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Task Task, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tasked; p. pr. & vb. n. Tasking.] 1. To impose a task upon; to assign a definite amount of business, labor, or duty to. There task thy maids, and exercise the loom. --Dryden. 2. To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax. 3. To charge; to tax; as with a fault. Too impudent to task me with those errors. --Beau. & Fl.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Task Task, n. [OE. taske, OF. tasque, F. t[^a]che, for tasche, LL. tasca, taxa, fr. L. taxare to rate, appraise, estimate. See Tax, n. & v.] 1. Labor or study imposed by another, often in a definite quantity or amount. Ma task of servile toil. --Milton. Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close. --Longfellow. 2. Business; employment; undertaking; labor. His mental powers were equal to greater tasks. --Atterbury. To take to task. See under Take. Syn: Work; labor; employment; business; toil; drudgery; study; lesson; stint.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tasks, tasking tasked) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A task is an activity or piece of work which you have to do, usually as part of a larger project. She used the day to catch up with administrative tasks. N-COUNT: usu N of -ing, supp N 2. If you are tasked with doing a particular activity or piece of work, someone in authority asks you to do it. The minister was tasked with checking that British aid money was being spent wisely. VERB: be V-ed with n/-ing 3. If you take someone to task, you criticize them or tell them off because of something bad or wrong that they have done. The country's intellectuals are also being taken to task for their failure to speak out against the regime. = rebuke PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR for n/-ing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Work, labor, toil, drudgery. 2. Employment, business, undertaking, enterprise, work, labor. 3. Lesson, exercise. II. v. a. 1. Impose a task on. 2. Burden, oppress, tax.

Moby Thesaurus

accuse, affair, agency, agentship, allege, arraign, article, assignment, attempt, authority, authorization, blame, book, bother, brevet, bring accusation, bring charges, bring to book, burden, burden with, business, busy, busywork, call to account, calling, care, cargo, censure, chalk talk, chare, charge, chide, chore, cite, commission, commissioning, commitment, complain, consignment, contract, criticize, cure, deadweight, deal, delegated authority, delegation, demand, denounce, denunciate, deputation, devoir, devolution, devolvement, dirty work, discourse, disquisition, donkeywork, drive, drudgery, duty, effort, embassy, employment, empowerment, encumber, engagement, enjoin, enterprise, entrusting, entrustment, errand, exact, executorship, exequatur, exercise, exposition, factorship, fag, fasten on, fasten upon, fatigue, finger, fish to fry, freight, freight with, full power, function, grind, handiwork, handwork, hang something on, harangue, headache, homework, homily, impeach, imply, impose, impose on, impose upon, impute, indict, industry, inflict on, inflict upon, inform against, inform on, insinuate, instruction, job, job of work, jurisdiction, keep busy, labor, lade, lay, lay charges, lay on, lecture, lecture-demonstration, legation, lesson, levy, license, lick, lick of work, lieutenancy, load, lodge a complaint, lodge a plaint, lumber, make-work, mandate, manual labor, matters in hand, millstone, mission, moil, moral, moral lesson, morality, moralization, nuisance, object lesson, obligation, occupation, odd job, office, onus, operation, oppress, overdrive, overtask, overtax, overwork, pain, piece of work, pin on, place, plan, plenipotentiary power, power of attorney, power to act, preachment, prefer charges, press charges, procuration, program, project, proposition, province, proxy, purview, put, put down, put on, put on report, put upon, rat race, rebuke, recital, recitation, recriminate, regency, regentship, report, reprehend, reprimand, reproach, reprove, responsibility, saddle, saddle with, scold, scut work, sermon, service, set, set task, skull session, slavery, spadework, stint, strain, stroke, stroke of work, struggle, subject to, sweat, take to task, talk, taunt with, tax, teaching, things to do, tiresome work, toil, travail, treadmill, trouble, trust, trusteeship, twit, undertaking, upbraid, venture, vicarious authority, vocation, warrant, weigh, weight, weight down with, work, yoke with