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task
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
task
I.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an impossible job/task
▪ He faced the impossible task of paying back huge debts.
an urgent task/job
▪ I’ve got some urgent tasks to finish before I leave tonight.
arduous task/work
▪ the arduous task of loading all the boxes into the van
assign sb a task/role
▪ I’ve been assigned the task of looking after the new students.
carry out a task/job
▪ He was unable to carry out simple tasks.
carry out a task/job
▪ He was unable to carry out simple tasks.
daunting task
▪ He’s got the daunting task of following in Ferguson’s footsteps.
do a job/task
▪ On Saturdays I usually do a few jobs around the house.
domestic tasks (=small jobs at home such as cleaning and washing)
▪ How many hours do you spend on domestic tasks each week?
face the task of doing sth
▪ He faced the task of preparing a three-course meal for 50 people.
formidable task/challenge
▪ the formidable task of local government reorganization
hopeless task
▪ Getting your work published often seems a hopeless task.
keep your mind on the job/task in/at hand
▪ Making notes is the best way of keeping your mind on the task at hand.
laborious process/task/business etc
▪ Collecting the raw materials proved a long and laborious task.
▪ the laborious business of drying the crops
onerous task
▪ an onerous task
perform a task/job/duty etc
▪ What skills do you need to perform this task?
repetitive work/tasks/jobs
▪ repetitive tasks like washing and ironing
straightforward matter/task/process etc
▪ For someone who can’t read, shopping is by no means a straightforward matter.
task force
▪ a task force on health care reform
thankless task/job/chore etc
▪ Cooking every day is a thankless task.
undertake a task/project
▪ Every task he undertook was tackled with great determination.
unenviable task/job etc (of doing sth)
▪ the unenviable task of informing the victim’s relations
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
arduous
▪ The arduous task of legging through a long tunnel like that under Castle Hill at Dudley could take over 3 hours.
▪ They've already begun the arduous task of carrying their plants half a mile across town to their new home.
▪ You have a self-disciplined and energetic approach to life now that should help you get even the most arduous and onerous tasks done.
▪ We asked her why she has given herself such an arduous task.
complex
▪ This is a complex task in the midst of implementing other aspects of the national curriculum.
▪ Mixing development and washes is a complex task.&038;.
▪ These systems are going to become more and more simple, to accomplish more and more complex tasks.
▪ With their hierarchical authority and functional specialization, they made possible the efficient undertaking of large, complex tasks.
▪ It is nowhere near as good as OS/2 at managing complex tasks, like getting computers to co-operate across a network.
▪ While performing more complex tasks, however, they make fewer mistakes and are less likely to dose off.
▪ Given the nature of the building, the provision of ducts is a very complex task.
▪ They discovered just how complex an analytic task they faced when they began to recognize how diverse their subordinates were.
difficult
▪ This proved a difficult task as the story was completely false.
▪ In some ways the managers were faced with an especially difficult supervisory task.
▪ Interpreting the new rules could prove a very difficult task in a political culture where the limits of secrecy are never defined.
▪ In tackling this difficult task, some governments have been trapped in their own demagogic schemes.
▪ Managing paperwork One of the most difficult tasks is to manage paperwork.
▪ In theory it ought not to be too difficult a task.
▪ It is a difficult task that may be impossible.
domestic
▪ However as she grows older, and perhaps re-enters the labour market, domestic tasks are shared more equitably.
▪ When that was too much like work there were all the domestic tasks to catch up on.
▪ Even this minor domestic task was apparently beyond his powers.
▪ It is not uncommon to hear of old women who are cross when asked to perform domestic tasks in residential care!
▪ Some residents enjoy being useful and helping out with domestic tasks, and a good Home encourages this.
▪ Similarly, the husband is playing a greater part in domestic tasks associated with the house and children.
▪ Freeing teachers from time consuming domestic tasks such as tidying, cleaning and repairing equipment?
▪ The effect of women's work on the distribution of domestic tasks within households will be a further important focus on research.
formidable
▪ A distillation of the riches of the existing law would be a most formidable task.
▪ The new managers obviously had their work cut out for them: learning how to be a manager was a formidable task.
▪ As with care within the household, the provision of care from outside can be a formidable task.
▪ How to tantalize our lower-middle-class students was a formidable task.
▪ Making money and turning out literate graduates are themselves formidable tasks, made none the easier when burdened with idealistic moral baggage.
important
▪ The Division has a particularly important task in promoting training courses for industry and commerce.
▪ Audio focuses the senses on sound and voice intonation, important for subtle tasks like detecting lying.
▪ It is important that the tasks agreed upon are absolutely clear.
▪ An important task, in the realm's defence.
▪ The guardian is given the important task of assessing whether this degree of understanding has been achieved.
▪ Don't go when there are important tasks which only you can do.
▪ Proper financial reward should go to those who undertake this important task.
impossible
▪ But was that really her fault - or was I presenting her with an impossible task?
▪ The market permits people to make decisions and to act without going through the impossible task of collecting all the relevant information.
▪ However, the new minister on arrival soon found that he was faced with a seemingly impossible task.
▪ An impossible task, the priests told him.
▪ But that, as they suggest, is a well-nigh impossible task at this distance in time.
▪ Under the block-grant funding system, this was an almost impossible task.
▪ It is of course an impossible task to examine the record of Marxism in such a short space as I have available.
▪ Dropping a combined 76 tons in a city the size of Philadelphia is hardly an impossible task.
main
▪ These objectives and a brief summary of the main tasks are given below.
▪ Having said that, the main task up to 200 remains a gathering task.
▪ His main task was tastefully to accommodate as many wedding presents into their new homes as was practicable.
▪ Make a list of main tasks.
▪ It is the main task of the trade union movement to create this unity.
▪ Still much to do, but main task done.
▪ He highlighted the reduction of inflation and the stimulation of economic growth as its two main tasks.
▪ Yet its main task was to comprehend and destroy daemons.
routine
▪ Automatic equipment meant that many of the relatively routine tasks could be done more quickly and more accurately.
▪ When the first tourists of the morning arrive, he joins other workers below for the routine tasks of the day.
▪ I have little patience with routine tasks such as washing up, filling in forms, etc. 2.
▪ At the same time, routine legal tasks have become increasingly computerized, allowing companies to substitute paralegals for actual lawyers.
▪ A good forward planner, he delegates detailed and routine tasks.
▪ He had to devote all his attention to the routine task of driving, finally pulling over to recover.
▪ Driving instructors say most of the time they spend in cars with students is occupied by routine tasks.
simple
▪ You find yourself doing the strangest things that can only be because you are no longer capable of doing the simplest tasks.
▪ There is good evidence for that as part of a simple learning task in sea slugs.
▪ They may become apathetic, unable to do even the simplest task.
▪ Where keeping house and cooking were not female chores but simple tasks of pleasure and survival.
▪ In his opinion, while the Smalltalk syntax is very simple, its simplicity obscures simple programming tasks.
▪ It was no simple task to complete; one workman, thrown into the raging rapids below almost lost his life.
▪ Voeller could not believe his luck and had the simple task of tapping the ball into an empty goal.
▪ Moving a carrier from one coast to another is no simple task, Roulstone said.
specific
▪ Having given Tam and Richie some very specific tasks I went off the following morning in search of a joiner.
▪ A typical pin might be the result of many individual workers, each with a specific task to do.
▪ The specific tasks allotted to each chapter, and the material included, also lead to different approaches.
▪ One is identification of the specific tasks confronting each of the four learners.
▪ This chapter reviews the considerations that must be taken into account when selecting a parser for a specific task.
▪ The two team leaders will decide on how the specific tasks will be divided between the two subgroups.
▪ A great deal of time was spent haggling over prices for specific tasks.
▪ Homework tasks may centre around the client achieving specific behavioural tasks.
unenviable
▪ The Prague impresario Guardasoni was given the unenviable task of getting one together.
▪ And we have a new secretary, Kirsty Rawlings, who has the unenviable task of organising me!
▪ The doctor and Chief Superintendent Coffin stood aside as the photographer moved in to start his unenviable task of recording the remains.
▪ Policing this activity to ensure submission of the reports is an unenviable and thankless task.
▪ Richard of Gloucester has a difficult task - an unenviable task, some might say.
▪ This man has the unenviable task of telling hungry women and children queueing for food that they're waiting in vain.
▪ The residential staff are presented with an unenviable task.
▪ They already have the unenviable task of supervising some of the most dangerous prisoners in the country.
■ VERB
accomplish
▪ In particular, they provide means for accomplishing certain tasks.
▪ There is no reason why a robot equipped with multiple cameras and manipulators could not accomplish the tasks Alvin can do.
▪ You have what you need to accomplish your given task.
▪ The Army attempted to accomplish contradictory tasks with camps and perimeters of all sizes.
▪ The promise is that evaluation, particularly self-evaluation, can accomplish these tasks.
▪ Rather, the two skiing miles have been accomplished, a task done.
▪ Your Manager will probably also want to comment on how you prepare for, accomplish and present completed tasks.
▪ You can create similar macros to accomplish any task performed by a sequence of keystrokes.
assign
▪ Each member was assigned a task which would draw on their skills.
▪ Restoring faith in government requires assigning tasks to the right village.
▪ The computer is not used as a genius assigned moronic tasks of accumulating data for the sheer electronic thrill of it.
▪ In the next we assign each task a number.
▪ Other men assigned the task suffered similar fates.
▪ Some are assigned different tasks, partly to prevent the work from becoming monotonous.
▪ So, why not have the princess assign Simpleton his tasks?
complete
▪ As Chapter 4 showed, the need to complete a task within a set period may produce a negative attitude towards it.
▪ After completing the first task, the roles will switch and the group will work with Card 2 and then Card 3.
▪ When he refused he was sent home, with lavish presents, to complete his task.
▪ Again and again, Ishmael is faced with the impossibility of successfully completing his task.
▪ Hdtest takes a long time to complete its task.
▪ If you congratulate a subordinate for completing a task on schedule, you may generate a feeling of pride and accomplishment.
▪ There are over 7,200 drawings extant and it has taken Claudie Judrin ten years to complete the task.
▪ Now, the United States has a chance to complete its task.
face
▪ Analysts said Mr Muawad faced the task of uniting militia leaders who have been fighting each other for 14 years.
▪ On Worldwide Plaza the team faced design tasks beyond the construction of the building.
▪ It sees government as faced with the same task of managing and controlling spending as any large business.
▪ Meanwhile, Giap faced the task of forming guerrilla bands, which would ultimately become the core of an army.
▪ They are therefore faced with the task of overcoming it.
▪ This time, Republicans may face a tougher task in the House than in the Senate because of substantial turnover.
▪ Meditation for those facing odious tasks Dear Lord, History in the making is often clear only in retrospect.
▪ Hunting still faces an uphill task but, backed by a yield of 7.6 p.c., the shares are worth staying with.
perform
▪ Of course people are paid to perform a particular task.
▪ One involves focus groups, where a representative customer is selected and asked to perform a task by following the enclosed directions.
▪ It is not uncommon to hear of old women who are cross when asked to perform domestic tasks in residential care!
▪ In other States, specially trained counselors perform this task.
▪ Strangely enough, people were able to perform this bizarre task without difficulty.
▪ Broadly speaking, as in a State today, performing all the tasks of administration and justice.
▪ They assumed the state would know how to perform this task.
▪ However, Sean performed poorly on tasks that required him to use a pencil or pen to perform copying assignments.
set
▪ With this setting, Jeremiah's task would prove difficult, dangerous and often an unrewarding one.
▪ So the league set up a second task force, to examine the quality issue.
▪ Warnie was a natural historian, and he set himself the task of putting all these documents into chronological order.
▪ Using the pen he had bought from the deaf mute, he set about his task with diligence.
▪ The Government has set up a task force to survey mental health services over the next two years.
▪ We first see him as a gentle jolly fellow set against the perilous task of killing whales from a small oar-manned boat.
▪ They set themselves the task of creating a full-scale replica of it using the original Roman techniques.
▪ They set themselves the difficult task of disentangling this cosmic dust from the earthly sort.
undertake
▪ As I walked around that charming town, I undertook the task of solving the puzzle she had set for me.
▪ All I could say was, with what special materials does he propose to undertake this great task?
▪ I do not mean to suggest that Tillyard or Olivier simply undertook their tasks as part of some officially orchestrated propaganda.
▪ Alternatively, they may employ an independent third party, such as a relocation company, to undertake this task.
▪ If the subordinate has to be so elaborately controlled the supervisor might just as well undertake the task.
▪ As a consequence of the suggestion Laureen Williamson was approached and readily agreed to undertake the daunting task.
▪ Proper financial reward should go to those who undertake this important task.
▪ Members of these units are legal combatants and undertake legitimate military tasks.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an uphill struggle/battle/task etc
▪ However, each parlor faces an uphill battle because the city hired a financial consulting firm to review the applications.
▪ It proved to be an uphill struggle, and was far from successful.
▪ Kopp said he faced an uphill battle in winning approval for the bill.
▪ Rehabilitation will be an uphill struggle.
▪ Smith said gay-rights advocates still believe they are fighting an uphill battle in opposing the bill.
▪ Unless you have a goal your learning will be an uphill struggle.
▪ Voice over Police are hoping to trace original owners but admit it's an uphill task.
▪ While critics of his decision gained momentum Thursday, the record shows they face an uphill battle.
be unequal to the task/job etc
▪ The country is in such disorder that a successor may be unequal to the task of putting it right.
have no stomach for a fight/task etc
▪ They proved to have no stomach for a fight with only Steve Regeling showing any semblance of spirit.
no mean feat/achievement/task etc
▪ But that was no mean achievement.
▪ For an immigrant boy this marital alliance was no mean achievement.
▪ Given that there are some 20,000 such fastenings in a boat of this size, this is no mean feat.
▪ In particular the notion that nurse training is for the young and for women only must be dispelled; no mean task.
▪ In this case it was no mean task.
▪ On Tuesday Invergordon Distillers reported a marginal improvement in underlying profits, no mean feat given the difficulties facing the whisky sector.
▪ This is no mean feat as the statute has 108 sections divided into 12 separate parts, together with 15 schedules.
▪ This is no mean task, especially if they have not been doing any recruitment for the past few months.
no small degree/achievement/task etc
▪ A large body of theory and no small degree of controversy exist relative to the treatment of uncertainty.
▪ The idea suggests alignment of individual goals and group purposes, no small achievement.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ By 2001, we had begun the task of collecting the materials and information needed for the study.
▪ Many older people need help with daily tasks like dressing and eating.
▪ Most of the workers did not have the skills required to perform the most basic tasks.
▪ One of the first tasks Eva set herself was learning the local language.
▪ Our main task is to improve the economy.
▪ Recovery crews continued the grim task of retrieving bodies from the wreckage.
▪ The massacre was never fully investigated because the police were incapable of carrying out the task.
▪ The UN Peacekeeping Force faces an almost impossible task.
▪ This is one of the most difficult and complex tasks we face.
▪ We knew what had to be done, but it wasn't an easy task.
▪ Who on earth would volunteer for such a thankless task?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A skill description relates to how a task is performed and what is achieved rather than what actions are taken.
▪ Each task should be identified and its position in the overall project established.
▪ Few people are more suited to the task.
▪ The Division has a particularly important task in promoting training courses for industry and commerce.
▪ This question helps us identify the ideal person for the task from an attitudinal perspective.
▪ Tony Gauci explained that the overhaul of engines of this age was a very specialised task.
II.verb
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Ad hoc task forces will be put together to solve tough problems.
▪ But to take us to task generally makes no sense.
▪ However, his flip dismissal of a child is far more damaging and something he should be taken to task over.
▪ Meanwhile, the Derechos Humanos Coalition is taking the police to task for the Gallegos shooting.
▪ Recognizing and controlling the feelings that produce the negative behavior is a long, hard task.
▪ The executives who participated in the Iberian Motors task forces, for example, may or may not have soured on change.
▪ Why, then, should lawyers be called to task for protecting the rights of the accused under the Constitution?
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Task

Task \Task\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tasked; p. pr. & vb. n. Tasking.]

  1. To impose a task upon; to assign a definite amount of business, labor, or duty to.

    There task thy maids, and exercise the loom.
    --Dryden.

  2. To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax.

  3. To charge; to tax, as with a fault.

    Too impudent to task me with those errors.
    --Beau. & Fl.

Task

Task \Task\ (t[.a]sk), n. [OE. taske, OF. tasque, F. t[^a]che, for tasche, LL. tasca, taxa, fr. L. taxare to rate, appraise, estimate. See Tax, n. & v.]

  1. Labor or study imposed by another, often in a definite quantity or amount.

    Ma task of servile toil.
    --Milton.

    Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close.
    --Longfellow.

  2. Business; employment; undertaking; labor.

    His mental powers were equal to greater tasks.
    --Atterbury.

    To take to task. See under Take.

    Syn: Work; labor; employment; business; toil; drudgery; study; lesson; stint.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
task

early 14c., "a quantity of labor imposed as a duty," from Old North French tasque (12c., Old French tasche, Modern French tâche) "duty, tax," from Vulgar Latin *tasca "a duty, assessment," metathesis of Medieval Latin taxa, a back-formation of Latin taxare "to evaluate, estimate, assess" (see tax (v.)). General sense of "any piece of work that has to be done" is first recorded 1590s. Phrase take one to task (1680s) preserves the sense that is closer to tax.\n

\nGerman tasche "pocket" is from the same Vulgar Latin source (via Old High German tasca), with presumable sense evolution from "amount of work imposed by some authority," to "payment for that work," to "wages," to "pocket into which money is put," to "any pocket."

task

1520s, "impose a task upon;" 1590s, "to burden, put a strain upon," from task (n.). Related: Tasked; tasking.

Wiktionary
task

n. A piece of work done as part of one’s duty. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To assign a task to, or impose a task on. 2 To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax. 3 To charge, as with a fault.

WordNet
task
  1. n. any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; "he prepared for great undertakings" [syn: undertaking, project, labor]

  2. a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee; "estimates of the city's loss on that job ranged as high as a million dollars"; "the job of repairing the engine took several hours"; "the endless task of classifying the samples"; "the farmer's morning chores" [syn: job, chore]

  3. v. assign a task to; "I tasked him with looking after the children"

  4. use to the limit; "you are taxing my patience" [syn: tax]

Wikipedia
Task

Task may refer to:

  • Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time or by a deadline
  • Task (computing), in computing, a program execution context
  • TASK party, a series of improvisational participatory art-related events organized by artist Oliver Herring
  • Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instruction
  • The TASK family of potassium ion channels
  • Task (L): Dragon deity
Task (computing)

In computing, a task is a unit of execution or a unit of work. The term is ambiguous; more precise alternative terms include process, thread (for execution), or step, request, or query (for work). In the diagram at right, there are queues of incoming work to do and outgoing completed work, and a thread pool of threads to perform this work. Either the work units themselves or the threads that perform the work can be referred to as "tasks", and these can be referred to respectively as requests/responses/threads, incoming tasks/completed tasks/threads (as illustrated), or requests/responses/tasks.

Task (project management)

In project management, a task is an activity that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time or by a deadline to work towards work-related goals. A task can be broken down into assignments which should also have a defined start and end date or a deadline for completion. One or more assignments on a task puts the task under execution. Completion of all assignments on a specific task normally renders the task completed. Tasks can be linked together to create dependencies.

Tasks completion generally requires the coordination of others. Coordinated human interaction takes on the role of combining the integration of time, energy, effort, ability, and resources of multiple individuals to meet a common goal. Coordination can also be thought of as the critical mechanism that links or ties together the efforts on the singular level to that of the larger task being completed by multiple members. Coordination allows for the successful completion of the otherwise larger tasks that one might encounter.

In most projects, tasks may suffer one of two major drawbacks:

  • Task dependency: Which is normal as most tasks rely on others to get done. However, this can lead to the stagnation of a project when many tasks cannot get started unless others are finished.
  • Unclear understanding of the term complete: For example, if a task is 90% complete, does this mean that it will take only 1/9 of the time already spent on this task to finish it? Although this is mathematically sound, it is rarely the case when it comes to practice.
Task (teaching style)

The Task teaching style is an option available to students under Student-Directed Teaching, a progressive teaching technology that aims to give the student a greater sense of ownership in his or her own education.

This teaching style is "for those students who required formal instruction and yet are capable of making some choice as to the appropriate practice for them to master the objective." This formal instruction happens at the same time as the Command students.

Under Task, the teacher will:

  • Provide a unit plan consisting of the objectives for several days, written in a language that students can understand
  • Provide formal instruction
  • Limit formal instruction to 25% of the time
  • Provide an instruction area
  • Assign an appropriate amount of choice in practice related to the instruction
  • Provide a checking station with answer keys
  • Use good questioning techniques and negotiation to help steer the students to becoming more independent
  • Spend approximately 60% of the total class time with the students whose choice was Task (remember Command and Task are together for formal instruction)
  • Provide perception checks and final tests as indicated in the unit plan
  • Provide a second evaluative activity if required by an individual student

The student will:

  • Listen to the instruction
  • Consider what they know and what they don't know when selecting the amount and type of practice
  • Declare the mark expected on each perception check
  • Do more than one perception check if the declared mark is not reached within the flexibility factor

Assignments for students choosing Task style might look something like this:

On page 159 there are some practice questions. Do any 3 of the first 5, any 2 of the next 5 and any 4 of the next 10.

Usage examples of "task".

B-39 Peacemaker force has been tasked by SIOP with maintaining an XK-Pluto capability directed at ablating the ability of the Russians to activate Project Koschei, the dormant alien entity they captured from the Nazis at the end of the last war.

He carried out his self-imposed task as keeper of the flag-locker in a naturally elegant manner that was deeply incongruous aboard a privateer, a ship designed solely for war.

It was useless to take them to task, to inform them that this behaviour instead of easing their plight only brought out the worst in their superiors and made them the butt of every perceived mistake aboard ship.

The job of my task force is to establish Abraxas and his good works all over the world.

I, an abysmally incompetent layman, with the terrific task before me of finding out how it got there.

To begin with, the four different classes were not hereditary but in time they became so, probably led by the Brahmans, whose task of memorising the Vedas was more easily achieved if fathers could begin teaching their sons early on.

Soul, presiding over the conjunction of the two, and to be thought of not as labouring in the task but as administering serenely by little more than an act of presence.

Force Levels and Iraq After Saddam Reconstructing Iraq The Limits of Knowledge and Planning First Things First: Security and Humanitarian Considerations The Importance of the United Nations Following the Bosnia Model Administering the Country and Building a New Polity Military Reform Truth and Reconciliation A Necessary Task CONCLUSIONS: Not Whether, But When Half Measures Will No Longer Work Risks and Costs Sooner or Later?

Without the interfering strands hanging in her eyes she was better able to see to her task and her fingers moved with agile speed and efficiency even though the blood continued to ooze, though with much less frequency as the wound was stitched closed.

Licinius, a tribune of the people, thinking that the time was come for forcing the agrarian law on the patricians by extreme necessity, had taken on him the task of obstructing the military preparations.

Roman era my task consisted of stifling the revolt in Judaea and bringing back from the Orient, without too great loss, an ailing army.

I listened with interest from my reserved seat on the front row, but part of my mind remained concentrated on the puzzle of Albacore, whose duties as chair of the meeting kept him from his other task of stroking my ego.

Going to the door, Alec checked the corridor again and then continued with his task.

Leaving them to their task, Alec and Micum went off to see how the real Thero was faring.

Torn between shame and relief, Alec watched through the open doorway as Seregil returned to his unpleasant task.