task definition |Dictionary.com

Related Searches

on Ask.com

special education task analysis

windows task manager

task analysis form

xp task manager

windows task manager processes

show location of computer task bar

task analysis for disabilities

job task analysis

how do i write a task analysis

free task manager

task force tools

task environment

Browse Nearby Entries

task

Sponsored Links Integrated Task Mgmt Sftw
Solve Task Mgmt for Entire Business Get Organized, Start Today - $450
www.ManagePro.com/TaskMgmt.html

GoalEnforcer
Smart todo list software. Truly visual, promo price $29.95
www.goalenforcer.com

7 dictionary results for: task

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

task

[task, tahsk] Pronunciation Key

–noun

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

2.	any piece of work.

3.	a matter of considerable labor or difficulty.

4.	Obsolete. a tax or impost.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to subject to severe or excessive labor or exertion; put a strain upon (powers, resources, etc.).

6.	to impose a task on.

7.	Obsolete. to tax.

–adjective

8.	of or pertaining to a task or tasks: A task chart will help organize the department's work.

—Idiom

9.	take to task, to call to account; blame; censure: The teacher took them to task for not doing their homework.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME (n.) < ML tasca, metathetic var. of taxa tax

]

—Related forms

taskless, adjective

—Synonyms 1, 2. job, assignment. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Sponsored Links Integrated Task Mgmt Sftw
Solve Task Mgmt for Entire Business Get Organized, Start Today - $450
www.ManagePro.com/TaskMgmt.html

GoalEnforcer
Smart todo list software. Truly visual, promo price $29.95
www.goalenforcer.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

task (tāsk) Pronunciation Key
n.

A piece of work assigned or done as part of one's duties.
A difficult or tedious undertaking.
A function to be performed; an objective.

tr.v. tasked, task·ing, tasks

To assign a task to or impose a task on.
To overburden with labor; tax.

[Middle English taske, imposed work, tax, from Old North French tasque, from Vulgar Latin *tasca, alteration of *taxa, from Latin taxāre, to feel, reproach, reckon; see tax.]

Synonyms: These nouns denote a piece of work that one must do. A task is a well-defined responsibility that is usually imposed by another and that may be burdensome: I stayed at work late to finish the task at hand.
Job often suggests a specific short-term undertaking: "did little jobs about the house with skill" (W.H. Auden).
Chore generally denotes a minor, routine, or odd job: The farmer's morning chores included milking the cows.
Stint refers to a person's prescribed share of work: Her stint as a lifeguard usually consumes three hours a day.
Assignment generally denotes a task allotted by a person in authority: His homework assignment involved writing an essay.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
task

c.1300, "piece of work imposed as a duty," from O.N.Fr. tasque (13c., O.Fr. tasche, Fr. tâche) "duty, tax," from V.L. *tasca "a duty, assessment," metathesis of M.L. taxa, a back-formation of L. taxare "to evaluate, estimate, assess" (see tax). General sense of "any piece of work that has to be done" is first recorded 1593. Verb "to put a strain upon" is from 1598. Phrase take one to task (1682) preserves the sense that is closer to tax. Ger. tasche "pocket" is from the same V.L. source (via O.H.G. tasca), with presumable sense evolution from "amount of work imposed by some authority," to "payment for that work," to "wages," to "pocket into which money is put," to "any pocket." Task force is attested from 1941, originally military; taskmaster is from 1530.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

task
noun
1.	any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; "he prepared for great undertakings" [syn: undertaking]
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]
verb
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]