Definitions
01a piece of work
A2 · Elementary Countable noun
n. a specific job or piece of work that you need to finish.
n. a discrete unit of work or a specific duty assigned to or required of a person.
日本語:仕事※
“Cleaning the windows was the most difficult task of the day.”
“The manager assigned each team member a specific task to ensure the project would be completed before the weekend deadline.”
Pitfall
I have many homework tasks to do.
I have a lot of homework to do.
While 'task' is countable, 'homework' is uncountable. Use 'task' for specific, individual items of work rather than general study.
Synonyms
02computing process
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Computing Technical
n. a program or part of a program that a computer is currently running.
n. an execution path or a process being performed by a computer system.
日本語:タスク※
“You can use the task manager to see which programs are slowing down your computer.”
“The operating system failed to respond because a background task was consuming all the available processing power.”
03to assign work
B2 · Upper Intermediate Formal
v. to give someone a specific job or responsibility.
v. to assign a specific duty or piece of work to a person or group.
“The director tasked her with finding a new office for the company.”
“The committee was tasked with investigating the cause of the budget deficit and proposing a sustainable solution for the next fiscal year.”
Usage
Often used in the passive voice: 'to be tasked with'.
04to strain or burden
C1 · Advanced Literary
v. to put a lot of pressure on someone's skills, energy, or patience.
v. to make great demands upon a person's powers or resources; to strain.
“The long climb up the mountain really tasked his physical strength.”
“The sudden influx of emergency cases severely tasked the hospital's limited resources during the peak of the winter flu season.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “task” in context.
Etymology
From Middle English taske (“task, tax”), from Old Northern French tasque, (compare Old French variant tasche), from Medieval Latin tasca, alteration of taxa, from Latin taxō (“to censure; to charge”). Doublet of tax.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Idioms
01. take to task
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A2 KeyIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.3.0–4.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 2.0–2.524–43TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.225–549
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- A2 · ElementaryOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/task
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「日本語」「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0