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View synonyms for task

task

[ task, tahsk ]

noun

  1. a definite piece of work assigned to, falling to, or expected of a person; duty.

    Synonyms: assignment, job

  2. any piece of work.

    Synonyms: assignment, job

  3. a matter of considerable labor or difficulty.
  4. Obsolete. a tax or impost.


verb (used with object)

  1. to subject to severe or excessive labor or exertion; put a strain upon (powers, resources, etc.).
  2. to impose a task on.
  3. Obsolete. to tax.

adjective

  1. of or relating to a task or tasks:

    A task chart will help organize the department's work.

task

/ tɑːsk /

noun

  1. a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or chore
  2. an unpleasant or difficult job or duty
  3. any piece of work
  4. take to task
    take to task to criticize or reprove


verb

  1. to assign a task to
  2. to subject to severe strain; tax

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Derived Forms

  • ˈtaskless, adjective
  • ˈtasker, noun

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Other Words From

  • taskless adjective
  • subtask noun
  • un·tasked adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of task1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun, from Medieval Latin tasca, variant of taxa tax ( def )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of task1

C13: from Old French tasche, from Medieval Latin tasca, from taxa tax, from Latin taxāre to tax

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. take to task, to call to account; blame; censure:

    The teacher took them to task for not doing their homework.

More idioms and phrases containing task

see take to task .

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Synonym Study

Task, chore, job, assignment refer to a definite and specific instance or act of work. Task and chore and, to a lesser extent, job often imply work that is tiresome, arduous, or otherwise unpleasant. Task usually refers to a clearly defined piece of work, sometimes of short or limited duration, assigned to or expected of a person: the task of pacifying angry customers; a difficult, time-consuming task. A chore is a minor task, usually one of several performed as part of a routine, as in farming, and often more tedious than difficult: the daily chore of taking out the garbage; early morning chores of feeding the livestock. Job is the most general of these terms, referring to almost any work or responsibility, including a person's means of earning a living: the job of washing the windows; a well-paying job in advertising. Assignment refers to a specific task allocated to a person by someone in a position of authority: a homework assignment; a reporter's assignment to cover international news.

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Example Sentences

In 2011 LGBT media outlet Queerty took the app to task for allegedly deleting accounts that made reference to being trans.

Detectives with a fugitive task force caught up with Polanco and a friend on a Bronx street in the early afternoon.

Sabrine is a trained lawyer, likely a helpful quality when your task is to push politicians.

It was a complex task they were asked to do, and every cultural and experiential advantage would be required.

Before dying in 1219, Marshal would begin the task of rebuilding England after decades of war.

And it was no light task, then, for six hundred men to keep the peace on a thousand miles of frontier.

Will the new issues promptly retire when their special task is over?

He sighed as he laid the papers on the table; for he thought the task would be a harder one than even his own immolation.

Having accomplished his task within three months Datto Mandi withdrew with all his men, except two who wished to settle at Pardo.

Through the beautiful, windy autumn days, he labored at his difficult task, the task of telling a story.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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