Meaning & use
task
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Meanings
nouncountable
A specific piece of work that someone has to do, often as part of a larger job.
Grammar: Countable: a task, two tasks; often followed by an infinitive or of plus -ing.
Patterns
- the task of doing something
- a task for someone
- carry out a task
Cleaning the garage was a bigger task than we expected.
Your first task is to sort these invoices by date.
The software automates repetitive tasks.
nouncountablecomputing
In computing, a unit of work or a process that a program or system is carrying out.
Grammar: Countable: run a task, background tasks.
Patterns
- run a task
- schedule a task
Open the task manager to see which task is slowing the computer.
The server runs a backup task every night.
Several background tasks started at once.
verbtransitiveformal
To give someone a piece of work or a responsibility.
Grammar: Usually passive or with with: be tasked with something.
Patterns
- task someone with something
- be tasked with doing something
The committee was tasked with finding a new venue.
She tasked her assistant with booking the flights.
Engineers are tasked with testing every part.
Word forms
| plural | tasks |
|---|---|
| third person singular | tasks |
| past tense | tasked |
| past participle | tasked |
| -ing form | tasking |
Common combinations
- complete a task
- He completed the task before lunch.
- daunting task
- Moving house is a daunting task.
- perform a task
- Robots can perform this task faster.
- take someone to task
- The teacher took him to task for cheating.
- the task at hand
- Let's focus on the task at hand.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chore
- A chore is a dull routine task, often at home.
- assignment
- An assignment is a task formally given by a teacher or boss.
- job
- A job can be a single piece of work or paid employment, so it is broader.
- duty
- Duty suggests something you are obliged to do.
Word family
- taskmaster noun
- a person who gives hard work and expects it done
- multitask verb
- to do several tasks at the same time
Commonly confused: task or tusk?
task vs tusk
A tusk is a long pointed tooth on an elephant; a task is a piece of work.
Practice
The new intern was ____ with organizing the files.
Choose one answer.
The passive form be tasked with means to be given a duty. The other forms are not grammatical after was.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “task”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.