task
(noun, verb)
past tense: tasked
LISTEN
Even young children can perform simple tasks around the house.
A task is a piece of work assigned to a person.
- Emma's favorite task was reading a bedtime story to her little brother.
- The teacher's first task each morning was to take attendance.
Task also means ‘to assign a task to someone.’
- Sylvia's boss tasked her with taking notes at the meeting.
Common uses
take to task: If you have a task but don’t do it, someone may take you to task. That means that they hold you responsible for it. Example: “My mom took me to task because my bed wasn’t made.”
task list: When you have a big project, it helps to create a task list. Then you can assign individual tasks to different people.
Did you know?
A task force is a military unit created to do a special job. It can also be a committee formed to solve a specific problem.
In pop culture
In the 1949 movie, Task Force, Gary Cooper remembers his navy career and the development of the aircraft carrier (=a ship on which airplanes land and take off).
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