task
Americannoun
-
tasks
plural
-
a definite piece of work assigned to, falling to, or expected of a person; duty.
- Synonyms:
- assignment, job
-
any piece of work.
- Synonyms:
- assignment, job
-
a matter of considerable labor or difficulty.
-
Obsolete. a tax or impost.
verb (used with object)
-
tasks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tasked,
past participle, past
-
tasking
present participle
-
to subject to severe or excessive labor or exertion; put a strain upon (powers, resources, etc.).
-
to impose a task on.
-
Obsolete. to tax.
adjective
idioms
noun
-
a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or chore
-
an unpleasant or difficult job or duty
-
any piece of work
-
to criticize or reprove
verb
-
to assign a task to
-
to subject to severe strain; tax
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tasksimple
-
taskssimple
-
have taskedperfect
-
has taskedperfect
-
am taskingprogressive
-
are taskingprogressive
-
is taskingprogressive
-
have been taskingperfect progressive
-
has been taskingperfect progressive
Past
-
taskedsimple
-
had taskedperfect
-
was taskingprogressive
-
were taskingprogressive
-
had been taskingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of task
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun, from Medieval Latin tasca, variant of taxa tax ( def. )
Explanation
A task can be big or small, easy or really hard — but it's never more than a job that needs to get done. Chop chop! There's a task that needs completing, and you're just the person for the job. If you're smart though, you'll figure out a way to task someone else with it, or assign it elsewhere. Task comes to us all the way from the Latin word taxare, which in its earliest days meant "to impose a tax on." So much like the filling out of your tax forms, most tasks are considered chores.
Vocabulary lists containing task
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Keystone Exams: English Composition Glossary
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
OpenAI claims Astra can do tax returns, and take three minutes to carry out a task which would take a human five hours.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The Falklands War began in April 1982 when Argentine forces invaded the islands ruled by Britain since the 19th century, prompting then-British prime minister Margaret Thatcher to send a naval task force to reclaim them.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
I watch it happen on my own bills for the AI coding tools my team uses; a task that took one request a year ago now takes dozens.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
Trying to find an explanation for why a claim was denied is a fruitless task.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Japanese soldiers try to position themselves as friends, but it’s a daunting task; thousands of Filipino guerrillas are in the mountains, and nearly everyone in Manila has relatives or friends among them.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
That platform allows developers to do general computing tasks with Nvidia’s graphics processing units.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
AGI doesn't have a specific definition but is broadly said to mean AI which is as good as humans, or better than them, on multiple tasks.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Otsuka said the firm can help companies carry out tasks together even when management is unsure of the outcome.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Constantly thinking about money and bills may consume mental resources, leaving less capacity available for other cognitive tasks.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
Mama couldn’t see the ghosts who crowded around the living as they went along their daily tasks.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
Putting the pieces together is the challenge with which Maestre has been tasked but Friday night was a fine start.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Nathanielsen announced the creation of the commission, tasked with shedding light on the legal implications of the campaign, in August 2024 when she was Greenland's minister of justice and gender equality.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
In Los Angeles, the Department of Transportation has been tasked with looking into ways it can regulate e-bikes and has been asked to return to the City Council’s Rules Committee in September with recommendations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The Marines tasked with securing the airport found themselves making impossible decisions about who could enter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The burden fell most heavily on Martin Kamen and others tasked with isotope production.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
OpenAI recently hired Denise Dresser, the former Slack CEO, as chief revenue officer, tasking her with growing sales among large businesses looking to adopt AI tools in their workforces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Manchester United confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season on Tuesday, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the Champions League.
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
Google is acquiring Intersect’s workforce and gigawatts of active joint projects, while tasking the company with developing new technologies to expand the energy supply for U.S. data centers.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 22, 2025
The US and South Korea accuse North Korea of tasking thousands of staff to take on multiple well-paid western roles remotely to earn money for the regime and avoid sanctions.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2024
The Trumpeter bravely has blown his way Through much that his patience was tasking; And the publisher also his joy doth betray: For the author's likeness he's asking.
From The Trumpeter of Säkkingen A Song from the Upper Rhine. by Joseph Victor von Scheffel
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.
