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 - take to task ⇒
to criticize or reprove
to assign a task to to subject to severe strain; tax
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
task /tæsk/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [countable]
- a piece of work assigned to a person:a boring task.
- Idioms take or bring (someone) to task, to scold or reprimand;
chide;
censure:The boss took him to task for being late.
task
(task, täsk),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
adj.
task′less, adj.
- a definite piece of work assigned to, falling to, or expected of a person;
duty. - any piece of work.
- a matter of considerable labor or difficulty.
- [Obs.]a tax or impost.
- take to task, to call to account;
blame;
censure:The teacher took them to task for not doing their homework.
v.t.
- to subject to severe or excessive labor or exertion;
put a strain upon (powers, resources, etc.). - to impose a task on.
- [Obs.]to tax.
adj.
- of or pertaining to a task or tasks:A task chart will help organize the department's work.
- Medieval Latin tasca, metathetic variant of taxa tax
- Middle English (noun, nominal) 1250–1300
- 1, 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged 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.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::