UNDERTAKE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Undertake

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/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."

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Etymology of 'Undertake'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Undertake" Quotes from Famous Books

... for the use of it. The public will not pay of their own accord for what yields no profit or convenience to them. There is thus a direct and obvious connection between the motive which induces individuals to undertake such a work, and ...

— Critical and Historical Essays Volume 2 • Thomas Babington Macaulay

... and I was not only unwilling to assume the responsibility for the risks incurred—risks which no one could with any degree of accuracy measure—but I felt that, having done all I could in the Cabinet, it was my duty to undertake, outside the Cabinet, the work ...

— New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 4, July, 1915 - April-September, 1915 • Various

... get abrasions on their bare feet and on their elbows and knees from the rough edges of the bricks. The soot working into these abrasions gave them a peculiar form of sore. Think of the terrible brutality to which a nervous child must have been subjected before he could be induced to undertake so hateful a journey for the first time. Should the boy hesitate to ascend, many of the master-sweeps had no compunction in giving him what was termed a "tickler"—that is, in lighting some straw in the grate below him. The poor little urchin had perforce to scramble ...

— The Days Before Yesterday • Lord Frederick Hamilton

... by Mackintosh, after discussion with the members of his party, was that nine men, divided into three parties of three each, should undertake the sledging. One man would be left at Cape Evans to continue the meteorological observations during the summer. The motor- tractor, which had been left at Hut Point, was to be brought to Cape Evans and, if possible, put into working order. Mackintosh estimated that the provisions ...

— South! • Sir Ernest Shackleton

... by the prospect of the fabulous wealth said to lie exposed in the form of bridal presents displayed in Castle Lone, Mr. Murdockson promised to form a party and go down to Lone to reconnoitre, and if he should see his way clear, to undertake ...

— The Lost Lady of Lone • E.D.E.N. Southworth

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