task
noun OPAL WOPAL S
/tɑːsk/
/tæsk/
Idioms - a piece of work that somebody has to do, especially a hard or unpleasant one
- to accomplish/perform/undertake/complete a task
- a difficult/a daunting/an impossible task
- Getting hold of this information was no easy task (= was difficult).
- a thankless task (= an unpleasant one that nobody wants to do and nobody thanks you for doing)
- The first task for the new leader is to focus on the economy.
- The new role involves a variety of specific tasks.
- task of doing something Detectives are now faced with the task of identifying the body.
- task of something The government now has to take on the task of reconstruction of the country.
- We should stop chatting and get back to the task at hand.
- You need to concentrate on the task in hand.
- It was a challenge to adapt this novel for the screen, but the writer proved himself equal to the task.
Synonyms tasktask- duties
- mission
- job
- chore
- task a piece of work that somebody has to do, especially a difficult or unpleasant one:
- Our first task will be to set up a communications system.
- duties tasks that are part of your job:
- Your duties will include setting up a new computer system.
- mission an important official job that a person or group of people is given to do, especially when they are sent to another country:
- They undertook a fact-finding mission in the region.
- job a piece of work that somebody has to do:
- I’ve got various jobs around the house to do.
- chore a task that you have to do regularly, especially one that you do in the home and find unpleasant or boring:
- household chores
- the task/mission/job/chore of (doing) something
- (a) daily/day-to-day task/duties/job/chore
- (a) routine task/duties/mission/job/chore
- (a/an) easy/difficult task/mission/job
- (a) household/domestic task/duties/job/chore
- to do a task/a job/the chores
- to finish a task/a mission/a job/the chores
- to give somebody a task/their duties/a mission/a job/a chore
Extra ExamplesTopics Working lifea2- It was my task to wake everyone up in the morning.
- Our first task is to set up a communications system.
- She felt daunted by the enormity of the task ahead.
- How do you tackle a task like that?
- I left her to get on with the task of correcting the errors.
- I was engaged in the delicate task of clipping the dog's claws.
- She failed to complete the task that she had been set.
- The primary task of the chair is to ensure the meeting runs smoothly.
- The team have no illusions about the size of the task confronting them.
- The unenviable task of telling my parents fell to my teacher.
- We need to think realistically about the task ahead.
- the simple task of making a sandwich
- How exactly do you intend to approach this task?
- You'll be required to do several routine tasks in the office.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- awesome
- challenging
- daunting
- …
- handle
- take on
- take upon yourself
- …
- involve something
- require something
- fall to somebody
- …
- task for
- task in
- be no easy task
- the task ahead
- the task at hand
- …
- an activity that is designed to help achieve a particular learning goal, especially in language teaching
- Look at the diagram and then do the task below.
- task-based learning
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- awesome
- challenging
- daunting
- …
- handle
- take on
- take upon yourself
- …
- involve something
- require something
- fall to somebody
- …
- task for
- task in
- be no easy task
- the task ahead
- the task at hand
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: from an Old Northern French variant of Old French tasche, from medieval Latin tasca, alteration of taxa, from Latin taxare ‘censure, charge’, perhaps from Greek tassein ‘fix’. An early sense of the verb was ‘impose a tax on’.
Idioms
take somebody to task (for/over something)
- to criticize somebody strongly for something they have done
- The local newspaper has been taking the city council to task over its transport policy.