Definition of "assignment" in English

noun

1. The act of assigning; the allocation of a job or a set of tasks.

   • This flow chart represents the assignment of tasks in our committee.

2. The categorization of something as belonging to a specific category.

   • We should not condone the assignment of asylum seekers to that of people smugglers.

3. An assigned task.

   • The assignment the department gave him proved to be quite challenging.

4. A position to which someone is assigned.

   • Unbeknownst to Mr Smith, his new assignment was in fact a demotion.

5. (education) A task given to students, such as homework or coursework.

   • Mrs Smith gave out our assignments, and said we had to finish them by Monday.

6. (law) A transfer of a right or benefit from one person to another.

   • The assignment of the lease has not been finalised yet.

7. (law) A document that effects this transfer.

   • Once you receive the assignment in the post, be sure to sign it and send it back as soon as possible.

8. (programming) An operation that assigns a value to a variable.