task

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A piece of work assigned or done as part of one's duties.
2. n. A difficult or tedious undertaking.
3. n. A function to be performed; an objective.
4. v. To assign a task to or impose a task on.
5. v. To overburden with labor; tax.
6. idiom. take To reprimand or censure.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A tax; an assessment; an impost.
2. n. Labor imposed; especially, a definite quantity or amount of labor; work to be done; one's stint; that which duty or necessity imposes; duty, or duties collectively.
3. n. Specifically A lesson to be learned; a portion of study imposed by a teacher.
4. n. Work undertaken; an undertaking.
5. n. Burdensome employment; toil.
6. To tax; charge.
7. To take to task; charge with something.
8. To impose a task upon; assign a definite amount of labor to.
9. To oppress with severe or excessive labor or exertion; occupy or engage fully, as in a task; burden.

Wiktionary

1. n. A piece of work done as part of one’s duties.
2. n. A difficult or tedious undertaking.
3. n. An objective.
4. n. computing A process or execution of a program.
5. v. transitive To assign a task to, or impose a task on.
6. v. To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax.
7. v. To charge, as with a fault.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Labor or study imposed by another, often in a definite quantity or amount.
2. n. Business; employment; undertaking; labor.
3. v. To impose a task upon; to assign a definite amount of business, labor, or duty to.
4. v. To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax.
5. v. To charge; to tax, as with a fault.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. assign a task to
2. v. use to the limit
3. n. any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
4. n. a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee