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task

 - 4 dictionary results

task

[task, tahsk]
–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.
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


taskless, adjective


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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To task
task   (tāsk)   
n.  
  1. A piece of work assigned or done as part of one's duties.

  2. A difficult or tedious undertaking.

  3. A function to be performed; an objective.

tr.v.   tasked, task·ing, tasks
  1. To assign a task to or impose a task on.

  2. 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: task
Pronunciation: 'task
Function: noun
: the performance that is required of the subject in a psychological experiment or test and that isusually communicated to a human subject by verbal instructions
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

task

see take to task.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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