UNDERTAKE • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Undertake

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/ˈəndərtˌeɪk/ Listen

verb

Undertake v. t. (past undertook; past part. undertaken; pres. part. undertaking)

1.

To take upon one's self; to engage in; to enter upon; to take in hand; to begin to perform; to set about; to attempt. "To second, or oppose, or undertake The perilous attempt."

2.

Specifically, to take upon one's self solemnly or expressly; to lay one's self under obligation, or to enter into stipulations, to perform or to execute; to covenant; to contract. "I 'll undertake to land them on our coast."

3.

Hence, to guarantee; to promise; to affirm. "And he was not right fat, I undertake." "And those two counties I will undertake Your grace shall well and quietly enjoiy." "I dare undertake they will not lose their labor."

4.

To assume, as a character. (Obs.)

5.

To engage with; to attack. (Obs.) "It is not fit your lordship should undertake every companion that you give offense to."

6.

To have knowledge of; to hear. (Obs.)

7.

To take or have the charge of. (Obs.) "Who undertakes you to your end." "Keep well those that ye undertake."

Undertake v. i. (past undertook; past part. undertaken; pres. part. undertaking)

1.

To take upon one's self, or assume, any business, duty, or province. "O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me."

2.

To venture; to hazard. (Obs.) "It is the cowish terror of his spirit That dare not undertake."

3.

To give a promise or guarantee; to be surety. "But on mine honor dare I undertake For good lord Titus' innocence in all."

See images of 'Undertake'

Etymology of 'Undertake'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Undertake" Quotes from Famous Books

... years in the Zaouia, and not once had she seen from her roof a European, except a French government-official or two, and a few—a very few—French officers. Never had any European women come. Tourists were usually satisfied with Touggourt, three or four days nearer civilisation. Women did not care to undertake an immense and fatiguing journey among the most formidable dunes of the desert, where there was nothing but ascending and descending, day after day; where camels sometimes broke their legs in the deep sand, winding along the fallen side of a mountainous ...

— The Golden Silence • C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson

... event, Germany can undertake no obligations towards Belgium, but the eventual adjustment of the relations between the two States must be left to the decision ...

— A Journal From Our Legation in Belgium • Hugh Gibson

... came there, the princess spoke to him in this manner: "Juan, if you really love me, you must undergo hardships. Show yourself to my father to-morrow, and agree to do all that he commands you to do. Then come back to me." Juan willingly promised to undertake any difficulties for ...

— Filipino Popular Tales • Dean S. Fansler

... results to be desired; the acceptance of his proposition—the acceptance of his personal capabilities and services, for instance. He neglects, as a preliminary to securing acceptance, to gain the confidence of the other man. When you undertake to sell your particular good qualities and your services to a prospective employer, do not make the mistake in salesmanship of omitting the process of first winning ...

— Certain Success • Norval A. Hawkins

... studying the part of Galatea a good deal and rehearsing it with him as well. Of course, I don't for a moment wish to prevent Mrs. Stewart from taking it, but I've spent a good deal of time upon it and I'm afraid I can't undertake anything else. Of course, it's very inconvenient stopping in Oxford in August, and I shouldn't care to do it except for the sake of a part which I felt ...

— The Invader - A Novel • Margaret L. Woods

Copyright © 2025 Free-Translator.com