Adjacent Words

Undertake definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

UNDERTA'KE, v.t. pret. undertook; pp. undertaken. [under and take.]
1. To engage in; to enter upon; to take in hand; to begin to perform. When I undertook this work, I had a very inadequate knowledge of the extent of my labors.
2. To covenant or contract to perform or execute. A man undertakes to erect a house, or to make a mile of canal, when he enters into stipulations for that purpose.
3. To attempt; as when a man undertakes what he cannot perform.
4. To assume a character. [Not in use.]
5. To engage with; to attack.
Your lordship should not undertake every companion you offend. [Not in use.]
6. To have the charge of.
- Who undertakes you to your end. [Not in use.]
UNDERTA'KE, v.i.
1. To take upon or assume any business or province.
O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. Isaiah 38.
2. To venture; to hazard. They dare not undertake.
3. To promise; to be bound.
I dare undertake they will not lose their labor.
To undertake for, to be bound; to become surety for.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: enter upon an activity or enterprise [syn: undertake, set about, attempt]
2: accept as a challenge; "I'll tackle this difficult task" [syn: undertake, tackle, take on]
3: promise to do or accomplish; "guarantee to free the prisoners" [syn: undertake, guarantee]
4: enter into a contractual arrangement [syn: contract, undertake]
5: accept as a charge [syn: undertake, take in charge]

Merriam Webster's

verb (undertook; undertaken; -taking) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to take upon oneself ; set about ; attempt <undertake a task> <undertake to learn to swim> 2. to put oneself under obligation to perform; also to accept as a charge or responsibility <the lawyer who undertook the case> 3. guarantee, promise <readily undertook that the letter should be securely conveyed — Sir Walter Scott> intransitive verb archaic to give surety or assume responsibility

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (past -took; past part. -taken) 1 bind oneself to perform, make oneself responsible for, engage in, enter upon (work, an enterprise, a responsibility). 2 (usu. foll. by to + infin.) accept an obligation, promise. 3 guarantee, affirm (I will undertake that he has not heard a word).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Undertake Un`der*take", v. t. [imp. Undertook; p. p. Undertaken; p. pr. & vb. n. Undertaking.] [Under + take.] 1. To take upon one's self; to engage in; to enter upon; to take in hand; to begin to perform; to set about; to attempt. To second, or oppose, or undertake The perilous attempt. --Milton. 2. Specifically, to take upon one's self solemnly or expressly; to lay one's self under obligation, or to enter into stipulations, to perform or to execute; to covenant; to contract. I 'll undertake to land them on our coast. --Shak. 3. Hence, to guarantee; to promise; to affirm. And he was not right fat, I undertake. --Dryden. And those two counties I will undertake Your grace shall well and quietly enjoiy. --Shak. I dare undertake they will not lose their labor. --Woodward. 4. To assume, as a character. [Obs.] --Shak. 5. To engage with; to attack. [Obs.] It is not fit your lordship should undertake every companion that you give offense to. --Shak. 6. To have knowledge of; to hear. [Obs.] --Spenser. 7. To take or have the charge of. [Obs.] ``Who undertakes you to your end.'' --Shak. Keep well those that ye undertake. --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Undertake Un`der*take", v. i. 1. To take upon one's self, or assume, any business, duty, or province. O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. --Isa. xxxviii. 14. 2. To venture; to hazard. [Obs.] It is the cowish terror of his spirit That dare not undertake. --Shak. 3. To give a promise or guarantee; to be surety. But on mine honor dare I undertake For good lord Titus' innocence in all. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(undertakes, undertaking, undertook, undertaken) 1. When you undertake a task or job, you start doing it and accept responsibility for it. She undertook the arduous task of monitoring the elections. VERB: V n 2. If you undertake to do something, you promise that you will do it. He undertook to edit the text himself. VERB: V to-inf

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

un-der-tak': "To take upon one's self," "assume responsibility," and so in Elizabethan English "be surety." In this sense in the King James Version Isa 38:14, "O Lord, .... undertake for me" (`arabh, the Revised Version (British and American) "be thou my surety"). Perhaps in the same sense in Sirach 29:19, although the idea is scarcely contained in the Greek verb dioko, "pursue." In the modern sense in 1 Esdras 1:28; 2 Macc 2:29; 8:10; the King James Version 2:27.

See SURE; SURETY.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Attempt, set about, engage in, embark in, enter upon, take in hand, take upon one's self, take on one's shoulders. II. v. n. Engage, agree, guarantee, stipulate, bargain, promise, be bound, be sworn, pledge one's self, pledge one's word, plight one's word, pass one's word, take upon one's self.

Moby Thesaurus

accept, accept obligation, agree, agree to, answer for, approach, assay, assume, attack, attempt, bargain, bargain for, be answerable for, be responsible for, be security for, begin, bind, buckle to, carry on, certify, chance, commence, commit, compact, conduct, contract, covenant, dive into, do, do a deal, embark in, embark on, embark upon, employ, endeavor, engage, engage in, enter on, enter upon, essay, exercise, fall into, fall to, follow, get busy, get cracking, get going, get under way, get with it, go about, go at, go bail for, go in for, go into, go to it, go upon, guarantee, have an understanding, have at, hop to it, jump to it, launch forth, launch into, lay about, lift a finger, light into, make a deal, make an attempt, make an effort, move into, obligate, offer, pass, pitch in, pitch into, pledge, plunge into, practice, proceed to, promise, prosecute, pursue, sail into, seek, set about, set at, set forward, set going, set to, set to work, shake hands on, specialize in, stand back of, start, start in, stipulate, strive, struggle, swear, tackle, take on, take the vows, take to, take up, try, turn to, use, venture, venture on, venture upon, vow, wade into, wage, warrant, work at