Library / English Dictionary

TASK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee

Example:

the farmer's morning chores

Synonyms:

chore; job; task

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("task" is a kind of...):

duty (work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "task"):

ball-breaker; ball-buster (a job or situation that is demanding and arduous and punishing)

stint (an individual's prescribed share of work)

scut work; shitwork (trivial, unrewarding, tedious, dirty, and disagreeable chores)

Derivation:

task (assign a task to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted

Example:

he prepared for great undertakings

Synonyms:

labor; project; task; undertaking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("task" is a kind of...):

work (activity directed toward making or doing something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "task"):

breeze; child's play; cinch; duck soup; picnic; piece of cake; pushover; snap; walkover (any undertaking that is easy to do)

adventure; dangerous undertaking; escapade; risky venture (a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful))

assignment (an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor))

baby (a project of personal concern to someone)

endeavor; endeavour; enterprise (a purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that requires effort or boldness))

labor of love; labour of love (productive work performed voluntarily without material reward or compensation)

endurance contest; marathon (any long and arduous undertaking)

no-brainer (anything that requires little thought)

proposition (a task to be dealt with)

large order; tall order (a formidable task or requirement)

venture (any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome)

Instance hyponyms:

Manhattan Project (code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II)

Derivation:

task (assign a task to)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Use to the limit

Example:

you are taxing my patience

Synonyms:

task; tax

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "task" is one way to...):

extend; strain (use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Assign a task to

Example:

I tasked him with looking after the children

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "task" is one way to...):

assign; delegate; depute; designate (give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something with something

Derivation:

task (a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee)

task (any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted)

Credits

 Context examples: 

At four-thirty my task was not yet completed.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The man and woman loved the dog very much; perhaps this was because it had been such a task to win his love.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Then, we had more tasks until tea, which Mr. Mell drank out of a blue teacup, and I out of a tin pot.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Indicates a task, process or examination that has either not been initiated or not been completed.

(Not Done, NCI Thesaurus)

As symptoms get worse, people with the disease may have trouble walking, talking, or doing simple tasks.

(Parkinson's Disease, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Baseline Dyspnea Index (BDI) Magnitude of task.

(BDI - Magnitude of Task, NCI Thesaurus)

Work tasks that require a great amount of physical or mental effort.

(Hard Work, NCI Thesaurus)

Indicates a task, process or examination that has either not been initiated or completed.

(CDISC SDTM Not Done Terminology, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A measure of how well a patient is able to perform ordinary tasks and carry out daily activities.

(Performance status, NCI Dictionary)

But it is too heavy a task.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)