VocabauraVOCABAURA

mission

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A set of tasks that fulfills a purpose or duty.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mishuhn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmɪʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. countable

    A set of tasks that fulfills a purpose or duty; an assignment set by an employer, or by oneself.

  2. A important goal or purpose; an objective.

  3. A number of people appointed to perform any service; a delegation; an embassy.

  4. in the plural"the missions"

    Third World charities, particularly those which preach as well as provide aid.

  5. A neighborhood of San Francisco.

  6. colloquial

    An ordeal; an difficult, trying task.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To do missionary work, proselytize.

  2. transitive

    To send on a mission.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.

More ways to use mission

  • “The planes were on a bombing mission.”noun

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “mission”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Organized / settlement

mission field

Third

mission statement

Other combinations

military missionmission stationdiplomatic missionmission workspecial missionnew mission

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • missionarynounDerived noun

    Someone who attempts to convert others to a particular doctrine or program.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • mission impossiblenounCompound term

    An extremely dangerous or difficult mission.

  • mission bellsnounCompound term

    Herb of southwestern United States having dark purple bell-shaped flowers mottled with green.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “mission” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.