undertaking
undertaking Lexical Profile
undertaking Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A task, project, or enterprise that is taken on, especially one that is important, demanding, or complex.
"Restoring the historic theater to its original grandeur was a massive undertaking that required years of dedicated craftsmanship."
A formal pledge, promise, or legal guarantee to do something or fulfill an obligation.
"The company provided a written undertaking to repair any environmental damage caused during the construction phase."
The business or profession of preparing the dead for burial or cremation and managing funerals.
"His family had worked in the business of undertaking and funeral direction for three generations."
• Rhymes for undertaking
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English as the verbal noun of 'undertake' (from 'under-' and Old Norse 'taka', meaning to grasp or take on). The sense relating to funeral management developed in the late 17th century as a shortened, euphemistic phrasing for a 'funeral undertaker'—one who undertakes to manage all practical arrangements for a burial.