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Definition of assignment
task , duty , job , chore , stint , assignment mean a piece of work to be done.
task implies work imposed by a person in authority or an employer or by circumstance.
duty implies an obligation to perform or responsibility for performance.
job applies to a piece of work voluntarily performed; it may sometimes suggest difficulty or importance.
chore implies a minor routine activity necessary for maintaining a household or farm.
stint implies a carefully allotted or measured quantity of assigned work or service.
assignment implies a definite limited task assigned by one in authority.
Examples of assignment in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'assignment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
see assign entry 1
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing assignment
- self - assignment
Dictionary Entries Near assignment
Cite this entry.
“Assignment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assignment. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.
Legal Definition
Legal definition of assignment, more from merriam-webster on assignment.
Nglish: Translation of assignment for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of assignment for Arabic Speakers
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[ uh - sahyn -m uh nt ]
She completed the assignment and went on to other jobs.
Synonyms: job , obligation
He left for his assignment in the Middle East.
- an act of assigning; appointment.
- the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer.
- a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors.
/ əˈsaɪnmənt /
- something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task
- a position or post to which a person is assigned
- the act of assigning or state of being assigned
assignment of a lease
- the document effecting such a transfer
- the right, interest, or property transferred
- law (formerly) the transfer, esp by an insolvent debtor, of property in trust for the benefit of his creditors
- logic a function that associates specific values with each variable in a formal expression
- history a system (1789–1841) whereby a convict could become the unpaid servant of a freeman
Other Words From
- misas·signment noun
- nonas·signment noun
- reas·signment noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of assignment 1
Synonym Study
Example sentences.
Yariel Valdés González and I faced these challenges while on assignment in South Florida and the Deep South from July 21-Aug.
They’re putting time into decoration just as they would in their physical classroom, and students can interact with the space by, say, clicking on a bookshelf to get a reading assignment.
For now, if the district moves to in-person learning, instruction in Carlsbad will take place on campus five days per week and students may engage in additional independent practices and other assignments at home.
The assignments must also respect the relationships between the elements in the group.
It’s very hard, by the way, to do real random assignment studies of couples therapy.
His most recent assignment was the 84th Precinct, at the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge.
When Lewis was shipped off to Vietnam, his son was just three months old, and the timing of the assignment worried Lewis.
When Vial got that first assignment, she was just beginning her photography career, and Cirque du Soleil was only a few years old.
“For our winter issue, we gave ourselves one assignment: Break The Internet,” wrote Paper.
By the 1950s the rapid assignment of gender to an ambiguously gendered infant had become standard.
Consent to an assignment may be given by the president of the company, without formal vote by the directors.
A transfer by the lessee of the whole or a part of his interest for a part of the time is a sublease and not an assignment.
An assignment to one who has an insurable interest as relative, creditor and the like, is always valid.
When an assignment of it is made, the assignee may sue in his own name for rent accruing after the assignment.
In some states statutes forbid the assignment of such policies for the benefit of creditors.
Related Words
- appointment
Look up a word, learn it forever.
/əˈsaɪnmənt/.
Other forms: assignments
Whether you’re an international spy with a new mission or a high school student with math homework — when you get an assignment , you’d better do it! An assignment is a task that someone in authority has asked you to do.
The word assignment is just the noun form of the common verb assign , which you use when you want to give someone a duty or a job. When you assign something, that something is called an assignment . The word can also refer to the act of distributing something. If you are distributing new office furniture at work, you might say, “ Assignment of the new chairs will begin tomorrow.”
- noun an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor) see more see less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher writing assignment , written assignment an assignment to write something classroom project a school task requiring considerable effort classwork the part of a student's work that is done in the classroom homework , prep , preparation preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home) lesson a task assigned for individual study type of: labor , project , task , undertaking any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
- noun a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the armed forces) “a hazardous assignment ” synonyms: duty assignment see more see less types: show 10 types... hide 10 types... guard , guard duty , sentry duty , sentry go the duty of serving as a sentry fatigue , fatigue duty labor of a nonmilitary kind done by soldiers (cleaning or digging or draining or so on) charge , commission , mission a special assignment that is given to a person or group reassignment assignment to a different duty sea-duty , service abroad , shipboard duty naval service aboard a ship at sea shore duty naval service at land bases fool's errand a fruitless mission mission impossible an extremely dangerous or difficult mission martyr operation , sacrifice operation , suicide mission killing or injuring others while annihilating yourself; usually accomplished with a bomb secondment the detachment of a person from their regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere type of: duty work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons
- noun the act of putting a person into a non-elective position synonyms: appointment , designation , naming see more see less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... nomination the act of officially naming a candidate co-optation , co-option the act of appointing summarily (with or without the appointee's consent) delegacy the appointment of a delegate ordinance , ordination the act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders recognition designation by the chair granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body laying on of hands laying hands on a person's head to invoke spiritual blessing in Christian ordination type of: conclusion , decision , determination the act of making up your mind about something
- noun the act of distributing something to designated places or persons “the first task is the assignment of an address to each datum” synonyms: assigning see more see less types: allocation , storage allocation (computer science) the assignment of particular areas of a magnetic disk to particular data or instructions type of: distribution the act of distributing or spreading or apportioning
- noun (law) a transfer of property by deed of conveyance synonyms: grant see more see less types: apanage , appanage a grant (by a sovereign or a legislative body) of resources to maintain a dependent member of a ruling family land grant a grant of public land (as to a railway or college) type of: transferred possession , transferred property a possession whose ownership changes or lapses
- noun the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another see more see less type of: instrument , legal document , legal instrument , official document (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right
Vocabulary lists containing assignment
The Dawes Act, or General Allotment Act of 1887, was a law that allowed the U.S. government to take Native American tribal lands and divide them into 40 acre lots for individual Native Americans. The goal was to break up communal tribal lands and speed the assimilation of Native Americans into American society. The Dawes Act caused great suffering with much of the land winding up in the hands of white settlers.
Learn these words from the autobiography by David Lubar (Inside: Level B, Unit 4). Here are our links to the selections of "Every Body Is a Winner": The Human Machine; My Fabulous Footprint , The Beat Goes On; All Pumped Up , Two Left Feet, Two Left Hands , How Coach Told Me; Bionics Here are our links to the units of Level B: Unit 1 , Unit 2 , Unit 3 , Unit 4 , Unit 5 , Unit 6 , Unit 7 , Unit 8 Here are our links to the Inside books: Level A , Level B , Level C Here is our link to a list of academic vocabulary for Inside: Academic Vocabulary
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Definition of assignment noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
- Students are required to complete all homework assignments.
- You will need to complete three written assignments per semester.
- a business/special assignment
- I had set myself a tough assignment.
- on an assignment She is in Greece on an assignment for one of the Sunday newspapers.
- on assignment one of our reporters on assignment in China
- The students handed in their assignments.
- The teacher gave us an assignment on pollution.
- Why did you take on this assignment if you're so busy?
- He refused to accept the assignment.
- assignment on
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Meaning of assignment – Learner’s Dictionary
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(Definition of assignment from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
Translations of assignment
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as·sign·ment
As•sign•ment.
An assignment is a task that someone is given to do, usually as part of their job.
An assignment is also a piece of academic work given to students.
In American English, an assignment is also a piece of work given to students to do at home.
Work given to schoolchildren to do at home is also called homework .
Be Careful! Homework is an uncountable noun. You do not talk about 'homeworks' or 'a homework'. Note that you do not say ' I have made my homework '. You say 'I have done my homework'.
| - a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the armed forces); "hazardous duty" - work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons; "the duties of the job" , , , - the duty of serving as a sentry; "he was on guard that night" , - labor of a nonmilitary kind done by soldiers (cleaning or digging or draining or so on); "the soldiers were put on fatigue to teach them a lesson"; "they were assigned to kitchen fatigues" , , - a special assignment that is given to a person or group; "a confidential mission to London"; "his charge was deliver a message" - assignment to a different duty , , - naval service aboard a ship at sea - naval service at land bases | ||
| - the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another , , , - (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right , - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" | ||
| - the act of distributing something to designated places or persons; "the first task is the assignment of an address to each datum" , - (computer science) the assignment of particular areas of a magnetic disk to particular data or instructions - the act of distributing or spreading or apportioning | ||
| - (law) a transfer of property by deed of conveyance , - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" , - a possession whose ownership changes or lapses , - a grant (by a sovereign or a legislative body) of resources to maintain a dependent member of a ruling family; "bishoprics were received as appanages for the younger sons of great families" - a grant of public land (as to a railway or college) | ||
| - an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor) , - a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher , , , - any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; "he prepared for great undertakings" , - an assignment to write something | ||
| - the act of putting a person into a non-elective position; "the appointment had to be approved by the whole committee" , , , , - the act of making up your mind about something; "the burden of decision was his"; "he drew his conclusions quickly" - the act of officially naming a candidate; "the Republican nomination for Governor" , - the act of appointing summarily (with or without the appointee's consent) - the appointment of a delegate , - the act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders; "the rabbi's family was present for his ordination" - designation by the chair granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body; "he was unable to make his motion because he couldn't get recognition by the chairman" |
- admeasurement
- all nighter
- annual training
- anthropopathism
- anthropopathy
- anthropophuism
- anthropopsychism
- appointment
- apportionment
- apportionment (air)
- assignation
- Assignment of dower
- assibilation
- Assideanism
- assiduously
- assiduousness
- assignability
- assigned risk
- assimilability
- assimilable
- assimilating
- assimilation
- assimilationism
- assimilationist
- assimilative
- assimilator
- assimilatory
- Assimulation
- Assiniboine
- Assiniboine Mount
- Assiniboine River
- assistance dog
- assistance mechanism
- assigned to you
- assigning to
- Assignment (computer science)
- Assignment (education)
- Assignment (law)
- Assignment Action Number
- Assignment and Analysis of Broadband Spectra
- Assignment and Justification Questionnaire
- Assignment and Lease
- Assignment and Licensing System
- Assignment and Transmittal Document
- Assignment Area
- Assignment Availability Code
- Assignment by Choice
- Assignment Capsule
- Assignment Capsules
- Assignment Clause, Life Insurance
- Assignment Completed
- Assignment Consideration
- Assignment Control Authority
- Assignment Control Number
- Assignment Coordination Group
- Assignment Data Card
- Assignment Date
- Assignment Eligibility & Availability
- Assignment for benefit of creditors
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IMAGES
COMMENTS
The meaning of ASSIGNMENT is the act of assigning something. How to use assignment in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Assignment.
the act of giving something that belongs to you, such as a property or a financial agreement, to somebody else: The Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment. The assignment of a legal lease must be in the form of a deed to be effective. on assignment.
Assignment definition: something assigned, as a particular task or duty. See examples of ASSIGNMENT used in a sentence.
An assignment is a task that someone in authority has asked you to do. The word assignment is just the noun form of the common verb assign , which you use when you want to give someone a duty or a job.
An assignment is a task or piece of work that you are given to do, especially as part of your job or studies.
noun. /əˈsaɪnmənt/ [countable] a task or piece of work that somebody is given to do, usually as part of their job or studies. Students are required to complete all homework assignments. You will need to complete three written assignments per semester. a business/special assignment. I had set myself a tough assignment.
a piece of work or job that you are given to do: a written assignment. He's on assignment in Brazil. (Definition of assignment from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) Translations of assignment. in Chinese (Traditional) （尤指學業或工作方面的）任務，功課, （被派遣到某地做的）工作, 分配（任務）… See more. in Chinese (Simplified)
assignment meaning, definition, what is assignment: a piece of work that is given to someone...: Learn more.
1. something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task. 2. a position or post to which a person is assigned. 3. the act of assigning or state of being assigned. 4. (Law) law. a. the transfer to another of a right, interest, or title to property, esp personal property: assignment of a lease.
Anything assigned or allotted, as a lesson, task, etc. Webster's New World. A position or post of duty to which one is assigned. The journalist took an assignment in China. American Heritage. More Noun Definitions (10) Synonyms: busywork. transferal.