/ tɑːsk; NAmE tæsk/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a piece of work that sb has to do, especially a hard or unpleasant one :
to perform / carry out / complete / undertake a task
a daunting / an impossible / a formidable / an unenviable, etc. task
a thankless task (= an unpleasant one that nobody wants to do and nobody thanks you for doing)
Our first task is to set up a communications system.
Detectives are now faced with the task of identifying the body.
Getting hold of this information was no easy task (= was difficult) .
2.
an activity which is designed to help achieve a particular learning goal, especially in language teaching :
task-based learning
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IDIOMS
- take sb to task (for / over sth)
■ verb
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] task sb (with sth) ( formal ) to give sb a task to do
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SYNONYMS
task
duties ♦ mission ♦ job ♦ assignment ♦ chore
These are all words for a piece of work that sb has to do.
task
a piece of work that sb 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 sb has to do:
I've got various jobs around the house to do.
task or job?
A task may be more difficult than a job and require you to think carefully about how you are going to do it. A job may be sth small that is one of several jobs that you have to do, especially in the home; or a job can be sth that takes a long time and is boring and/or needs a lot of patience.
assignment
a task that sb is given to do, usually as part of their job or studies:
You must complete three written assignments.
chore
a task that you have to do regularly, especially one that you do in the home and find unpleasant or boring:
household chores
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
the task / mission / job / chore of (doing) sth
(a) daily / day-to-day task / duties / job / chore
(a) routine task / duties / mission / job / assignment / chore
(a / an) easy / difficult / hard / challenging / impossible task / duties / mission / job / assignment
(a) household / domestic task / duties / job / chore
to do a task / your duties / a job / an assignment / the chores
to complete / finish a task / your duties / a mission / a job / an assignment / a chore
to give sb a task / their duties / a mission / a job / an assignment / a chore
to be on a(n) mission / job / assignment
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle 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 .