undertaking

C2+ Topic:Work & Careers

US /ˌʌndɚˈteɪkɪŋ/ UK /ˌʌndəˈteɪkɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a task or project, especially a difficult one; a formal pledge

Building the bridge proved a far greater undertaking than expected.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a task or project,... task venture project enterprise endeavor pledge

Word family

Related forms undertake undertaker take

Etymology

From undertake + -ing. Undertake is from under- + take, the latter from Old Norse taka ('to take, grasp'), from Proto-Germanic *takaną.

under Old English taka Old Norse *takaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Work & Careers Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# undertaking

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌʌndɚˈteɪkɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌʌndəˈteɪkɪŋ/

## Meanings
1. a task or project, especially a difficult one; a formal pledge

## Examples
- Building the bridge proved a far greater undertaking than expected.

## Synonyms
- task
- venture
- project
- enterprise
- endeavor
- pledge

## Related Forms
- undertake
- undertaker
- take

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: under
- Root: taka
- Root: *takaną

## Etymology
From undertake + -ing. Undertake is from under- + take, the latter from Old Norse taka ('to take, grasp'), from Proto-Germanic *takaną.

## AI Etymology
Undertaking is from undertake + -ing. Undertake is from under- + take, the latter from Old Norse taka ('to take, grasp'), from Proto-Germanic *takaną. In present-day use, it means a task or project, especially a difficult one; a formal pledge. Related vocabulary includes undertake, undertaker, and take.

## Topics
- Work & Careers
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

markdown