errands

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Small jobs that involve going out to buy things, pay bills, or deliver something.

   Grammar: Used as a plural noun; the singular 'errand' means one such trip. Often follows 'run' or 'do': run errands, do errands.

   Patterns

   • run errands
   • do errands
   • on errands
   • errands for someone

   I have to run a few errands this morning—the bank, the post office, and the pharmacy.

   She spent the afternoon doing errands for her grandmother.

   He was out on errands when I called, so I left a message.

2. 2nouncountable

   A short trip made to do one specific small job, such as buying something or taking something somewhere.

   Grammar: Countable; use 'an errand' for one trip. Often followed by 'to' plus a place or 'for' plus a person.

   Patterns

   • an errand to a place
   • an errand for someone
   • go on an errand

   I made a quick errand to the store to buy milk.

   Could you run an errand for me and drop this letter off?

   He went on an errand to the bank and was back in twenty minutes.

Word forms

Common combinations

run errands

I need to run errands all day tomorrow.

do errands

She does errands for her elderly neighbor.

on errands

He's out on errands; he'll be back soon.

errands for someone

The assistant runs errands for the whole team.

a quick errand

I just have a quick errand to do.

Synonyms and how they differ

chores

Chores are regular jobs around the house, like cleaning or washing; errands involve going out.

tasks

Tasks is a general word for any piece of work; errands are specifically short trips to do something.

Word family

errand noun

One short trip to do a small job, such as buying something.

Commonly confused: errands or errant?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “errands”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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