— taskless , adj.
/task, tahsk/ , n.
1. a definite piece of work assigned to, falling to, or expected of a person; duty.
2. any piece of work.
3. a matter of considerable labor or difficulty.
4. Obs. a tax or impost.
5. take to task , to call to account; blame; censure: The teacher took them to task for not doing their homework.
v.t.
6. to subject to severe or excessive labor or exertion; put a strain upon (powers, resources, etc.).
7. to impose a task on.
8. Obs. to tax.
adj.
9. of or pertaining to a task or tasks: A task chart will help organize the department's work.
[ 1250-1300; ME (n.) tasca, metathetic var. of taxa TAX ]
Syn. 1, 2. 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.