mission
1 Americannoun
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a group or committee of persons sent to a foreign country to conduct negotiations, establish relations, provide scientific and technical assistance, or the like.
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the business with which such a group is charged.
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any important task or duty that is assigned, allotted, or self-imposed.
Our mission is to find the child a safe home.
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an important goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation.
She has finally found her mission in life.
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a sending or being sent for some duty or purpose.
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those sent.
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Also called foreign mission. a permanent diplomatic establishment abroad; embassy; legation.
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Military. an operational task, usually assigned by a higher headquarters.
a mission to bomb the bridge.
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Aerospace. an operation designed to carry out the goals of a specific program.
a space mission.
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Also called foreign mission. a group of persons sent by a church to carry on religious work, especially evangelization in foreign lands, and often to establish schools, hospitals, etc.
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an establishment of missionaries in a foreign land; a missionary church or station.
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a similar establishment in any region.
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the district assigned to a missionary.
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missionary duty or work.
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an organization for carrying on missionary work.
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Also called rescue mission. a shelter operated by a church or other organization offering food, lodging, and other assistance to needy persons.
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missions, organized missionary work or activities in any country or region.
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a church or a region dependent on a larger church or denomination.
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a series of special religious services for increasing religious devotion and converting unbelievers.
to preach a mission.
adjective
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of or relating to a mission.
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(usually initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a style of American furniture of the early 20th century, created in supposed imitation of the furnishings of the Spanish missions of California and characterized by the use of dark, stained wood, by heaviness, and by extreme plainness.
noun
noun
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a specific task or duty assigned to a person or group of people
their mission was to irrigate the desert
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a person's vocation (often in the phrase mission in life )
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a group of persons representing or working for a particular country, business, etc, in a foreign country
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a special embassy sent to a foreign country for a specific purpose
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a permanent legation
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a group of people sent by a religious body, esp a Christian church, to a foreign country to do religious and social work
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the campaign undertaken by such a group
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the work or calling of a missionary
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a building or group of buildings in which missionary work is performed
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the area assigned to a particular missionary
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the dispatch of aircraft or spacecraft to achieve a particular task
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a church or chapel that has no incumbent of its own
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a charitable centre that offers shelter, aid, or advice to the destitute or underprivileged
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(modifier) of or relating to an ecclesiastical mission
a mission station
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a long and difficult process
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(modifier) (of furniture) in the style of the early Spanish missions of the southwestern US
verb
Other Word Forms
- missional adjective
Etymology
Origin of mission
First recorded in 1590–1600; 1925–30 mission for def. 8; from Latin missiōn-, stem of missiō “dismissal,” literally, “a sending,” equivalent to miss(us) (past participle of mittere “to send”) + -iō -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
NASA's Europa Clipper mission and the European Space Agency's Juice spacecraft are currently on their way to the Jovian system to investigate the structure, composition and habitability of these moons.
From Science Daily
"With the martyrdom of the supreme leader, his path and mission neither will be lost nor will be forgotten, on the other hand, they will be pursued with greater vigour and zeal," a presenter said.
From Barron's
Now one of those who was sued has launched a new business, aiming to carry on Clarity's social mission in a new way.
From BBC
“But we are doing this, not for now, we are doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”
From Los Angeles Times
Khomeini would become his mentor, a figure to whom he remained ever loyal, running secret missions for him while Khomeini lived in exile.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
