What does undertake mean?
Word: Undertake
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Undertake means to agree to do a job or task and take responsibility for it; to start on something.
Synonyms: begin, accept
Antonyms: abandon, refuse
How do you spell undertake?
Syllables: un - der - take
Tricky part: The e at the end of take is easy to forget (undertak). The past forms change inside the word, just as take does: undertook, undertaken.
Watch out for: undertak, undertaik
Memory tip: Whatever you undertake, you agree to carry out: the word ends with take, silent e and all.
Undertake in a sentence
Example 1: The NGO will undertake the cleaning of the lake before the monsoon.
Example 2: Few climbers undertake the winter trek to Chadar.
Example 3: I cannot undertake to finish the poster by tonight.
Fun Fact
The noun undertaking means a big project; building the Konkan Railway through the Western Ghats in the 1990s was a huge undertaking.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Every year our school agrees to undretake a clean-up of the village, and the older pupils plan every detail.
a) older
b) village
c) detail
d) undretake
Show answer
d) undretake. Under comes first, ending in er, and then take.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word undertake as used in the sentence:
The students agreed to undertake a survey of trees on their estate.
a) postpone
b) avoid
c) take on
d) question
Show answer
c) take on. Agreeing to do the survey means taking it on; postponing or avoiding it means not doing it yet, or at all.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. persevear 2. undertake 3. endevour 4. acomplish
a) to accept a piece of work as your own job
b) to try very hard to do something
c) to keep trying in spite of difficulty
d) to succeed in doing something
Show answer
a) to accept a piece of work as your own job. Persevere ends in -ere, accomplish has a double c, and endeavour keeps its ea.
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) upbrining
b) ovarlook
c) withstend
d) undertake
Show answer
d) undertake. Overlook starts with over, withstand ends in -and, and upbringing keeps the whole word bring.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If you undertake to post the letters, you ____.
a) refuse to do it at all
b) promise to get it done
c) forget all about it
d) ask a friend to do it
Show answer
b) promise to get it done
2. When the city council undertakes the repair of a road, it ____.
a) takes charge of getting it done
b) asks drivers to pay a fine
c) closes the road for good
d) complains about the potholes
Show answer
a) takes charge of getting it done
