assignment [uh-sahyn-muhnt] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for assignment on Thesaurus.com noun
- something assigned, as a particular task or duty: She completed the assignment and went on to other jobs.
- a position of responsibility, post of duty, or the like, to which one is appointed: He left for his assignment in the Middle East.
- an act of assigning; appointment.
- Law.
- the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer.
- a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors.
Origin of assignment 1350–1400; Middle English assignament Medieval Latin assignāmentum. See assign, -ment Related formsmis·as·sign·ment, nounnon·as·sign·ment, nounre·as·sign·ment, nounCan be confusedassignment assignationSynonyms for assignment See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com 1, 2. obligation, job. 1. See task. Related Words for assignment duty, chore, appointment, practice, job, drill, position, post, stint, homework, selection, choice, allocation, distribution, nomination, beat, commission, charge, mission, attribution Examples from the Web for assignment Contemporary Examples of assignment
When Lewis was shipped off to Vietnam, his son was just three months old, and the timing of the assignment worried Lewis.
A West Point MVP Who Never Played a Down
Nicolaus Mills
December 13, 2014
When Vial got that first assignment, she was just beginning her photography career, and Cirque du Soleil was only a few years old.
A Backstage Love Affair With Cirque du Soleil
Allison McNearney
December 1, 2014
“For our winter issue, we gave ourselves one assignment: Break The Internet,” wrote Paper.
Kim Kardashian Bares Her Shiny, Bounteous Butt, Breaks the Internet
Marlow Stern
November 12, 2014
One assignment will ask students to “write about their feelings about abortion and how they should manage them.”
The Internet’s First Abortion Class
Samantha Allen
October 6, 2014
You were in retirement when you got the call for this assignment.
Meet America’s New Top Ebola Fighter
Abby Haglage
September 26, 2014
Historical Examples of assignment
You’ve got your berth, you’ve got your money, you’re going to get your passport, and you’ve got your assignment.
Francis Rolt-Wheeler
It was at noon of the third day he had been at work when John was given his first assignment.
James H. Richardson
One of the detectives detailed to this assignment was Hyman Ginsburg.
Irvin S. Cobb
He had given me the assignment of putting antigrav units into production.
Mark Irvin Clifton
And it can show us that a nation’s assignment of a mission to itself is not a sudden growth.
Israel Zangwill
British Dictionary definitions for assignment assignment noun
- 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
- law
- the transfer to another of a right, interest, or title to property, esp personal propertyassignment 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
- Australian history a system (1789–1841) whereby a convict could become the unpaid servant of a freeman
Word Origin and History for assignment n.
late 14c., “order, request, directive,” from Old French assignement “(legal) assignment (of dower, etc.),” from Late Latin assignamentum, noun of action from Latin assignare (see assign). Meaning “appointment to office” is mid-15c.; that of “a task assigned” (to someone) is from c.1848.