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# undertaking

noun (an undertaking, undertakings); verb form (present participle of undertake: undertake, undertakes, undertook, undertaken, undertaking)

«undertaking» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A big or difficult job or project. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#m1)
2. (formal) A promise to do something. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#m2)
3. The work of an undertaker (arranging funerals). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#m3)

### In the lessons

In formal and exam language «a huge undertaking» means a big task. In stories it describes a long journey or adventure. In law it means a promise. Phrases: a major undertaking, give an undertaking.

### Examples

- Building the tree house was a big undertaking. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#x1)
- Climbing the mountain was a dangerous undertaking. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#x2)
- The shop gave an undertaking to refund faulty goods. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#x3)
- Moving house is quite an undertaking. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#x4)
- The project was a joint undertaking by two schools. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#x5)
- She is undertaking a course in first aid. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#x6)
- To cross to the opposite shore was an undertaking fraught with danger to life and limb. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/#x7)

### Note

Undertake is irregular: undertake, undertook, undertaken. An undertaker is a person who arranges funerals. Countable: an undertaking.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «undertaking» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/undertaking/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«undertaking» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/undertaking.html) on Mova free.