task

task  (tsk)

n.

1. A piece of work assigned or done as part of one's duties.

2. A difficult or tedious undertaking.

3. A function to be performed; an objective.

tr.v. tasked, task·ing, tasks

1. To assign a task to or impose a task on.

2. To overburden with labor; tax.

Idiom:

take/call/bring to task

To reprimand or censure.

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[Middle English taske, imposed work, tax, from Old North French tasque, from Vulgar Latin *tasca, alteration of *taxa, from Latin taxre, to feel, reproach, reckon; see tax.]

Synonyms: task, job¹, chore, stint¹, assignment
These nouns denote a piece of work that one must do. A task is a well-defined responsibility that is usually imposed by another and that may be burdensome: I stayed at work late to finish the task at hand.
Job often suggests a specific short-term undertaking: "did little jobs about the house with skill" W.H. Auden.
Chore generally denotes a minor, routine, or odd job: The farmer's morning chores included milking the cows.
Stint refers to a person's prescribed share of work: Her stint as a lifeguard usually consumes three hours a day.
Assignment generally denotes a task allotted by a person in authority: His homework assignment involved writing an essay.

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task

Noun

1. a specific piece of work required to be done

2. an unpleasant or difficult job or duty

3. take to task to criticize or rebuke [Old French tasche]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	task - any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; "he prepared for great undertakings" project, undertaking, labor child's play, cinch, duck soup, piece of cake, pushover, breeze, walkover, picnic, snap - any undertaking that is easy to do; "marketing this product will be no picnic" work - activity directed toward making or doing something; "she checked several points needing further work" adventure, dangerous undertaking, escapade, risky venture - a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful) assignment - an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor) baby - a project of personal concern to someone; "this project is his baby" endeavor, endeavour, enterprise - a purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that requires effort or boldness); "he had doubts about the whole enterprise" labor of love, labour of love - productive work performed voluntarily without material reward or compensation endurance contest, marathon - any long and arduous undertaking no-brainer - anything that requires little thought proposition - a task to be dealt with; "securing adequate funding is a time-consuming proposition" large order, tall order - a formidable task or requirement; "finishing in time was a tall order but we did it" venture - any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome
	2.	task - 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" chore, job duty - work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons; "the duties of the job" ball-breaker, ball-buster - a job or situation that is demanding and arduous and punishing; "Vietnam was a ball-breaker" stint - an individual's prescribed share of work; "her stint as a lifeguard exhausted her" scut work, shitwork - trivial, unrewarding, tedious, dirty, and disagreeable chores; "the hospital hired him to do scut work"
Verb	1.	task - assign a task to; "I tasked him with looking after the children" assign, delegate, designate, depute - give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person)
	2.	task - use to the limit; "you are taxing my patience" tax strain, extend - use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity; "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much"

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task

noun 1. job, duty, assignment, work, business, charge, labour, exercise, mission, employment, enterprise, undertaking, occupation, chore, toil

verb 2. charge, assign to, entrust take someone to task criticize, blame, blast, lecture, carpet (informal) censure, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, scold, tear into (informal) tell off (informal) diss (slang), chiefly U.S. read the riot act, reprove, upbraid, lambast(e), bawl out (informal) chew out U.S., Canad. (informal) tear (someone) off a strip Brit. (informal) give a rocket Brit., N.Z. (informal)

Translations

task [tɑːsk] n → tarea;

to take to task → reprender

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task [tɑːsk] n → tâche f;

to take to task → prendre à partie

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task [tɑːsk] n → Aufgabe f;

to take sb to task → jdn ins Gebet nehmen

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task [tɑːsk] n → compito;

to take to task → rimproverare