assignment

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of distributing something to designated places or persons

   the first task is the assignment of an address to each datum

2. 2
   noun

   a duty that you are assigned to perform, especially in the armed forces

   My assignment was tough – I had to infiltrate an enemy stronghold.

3. 3
   noun

   The act of assigning; the allocation of a job or a set of tasks.

   This flow chart represents the assignment of tasks in our committee.

4. 4
   noun

   The categorization of something as belonging to a specific category.

   We should not condone the assignment of asylum seekers to that of people smugglers.

5. 5
   noun

   An assigned task.

   The assignment the department gave him proved to be quite challenging.

6. 6
   noun

   A position to which one is assigned.

   Unbeknownst to Mr Smith, his new assignment was in fact a demotion.

7. 7
   noun

   A task given to students, such as homework or coursework.

   Mrs Smith gave out our assignments, and said we had to finish them by Monday.

8. 8
   noun

   A transfer of a right or benefit from one person to another.

   The assignment of the lease has not been finalised yet.

Etymology

From Middle English assignement, from Old French assignement. By surface analysis, assign + -ment.