mission

¹mis·sion

noun \ˈmi-shən\

Definition of MISSION

1

obsolete : the act or an instance of sending

2

a : a ministry commissioned by a religious organization to propagate its faith or carry on humanitarian work

b : assignment to or work in a field of missionary enterprise

c (1) : a mission establishment (2) : a local church or parish dependent on a larger religious organization for direction or financial support

d plural : organized missionary work

e : a course of sermons and services given to convert the unchurched or quicken Christian faith

3

: a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity: as

a : a group sent to a foreign country to conduct diplomatic or political negotiations

b : a permanent embassy or legation

c : a team of specialists or cultural leaders sent to a foreign country

4

a : a specific task with which a person or a group is charged

b (1) : a definite military, naval, or aerospace task <a bombing mission> <a space mission> (2) : a flight operation of an aircraft or spacecraft in the performance of a mission <a mission to Mars>

c : a preestablished and often self-imposed objective or purpose <statement of the company's mission>

5

: calling, vocation

Examples of MISSION

1. Our mission was to recover the stolen plans.
2. By patient negotiation she succeeded in her mission of averting a strike.
3. a mission to the moon
4. a member of a trade mission

Origin of MISSION

New Latin, Medieval Latin, & Latin; New Latin mission-, missio religious mission, from Medieval Latin, task assigned, from Latin, act of sending, from mittere to send

First Known Use: 1530

Related to MISSION

Synonyms

assignment, brief, business, charge, detail, job, operation, post

Related Words

burden, chore, duty, need, obligation, office, requirement, responsibility; errand, labor, work; commitment, pledge, promise; appointment, commission, designation, nomination; compulsion, constraint, restraint

Rhymes with MISSION

fission, titian, Titian

²mission

transitive verb

mis·sionedmis·sion·ing \ˈmi-sh(ə-)niŋ\

Definition of MISSION

1

: to send on or entrust with a mission

2

: to carry on a religious mission among or in

First Known Use of MISSION

1692

Rhymes with MISSION

fission

³mission

adjective

Definition of MISSION

1

: of or relating to a style used in the early Spanish missions of the southwestern United States <mission architecture>

2

: of, relating to, or having the characteristic of a style of plain heavy usually oak furniture originating in the United States in the early part of the 20th century

First Known Use of MISSION

1900

Other Furniture and Woodworking Terms

appoint, credenza, settee

Mis·sion

geographical name \ˈmi-shən\

Definition of MISSION

1

city S Texas near the Rio Grande pop 45,408

2

municipality Canada in SW British Columbia pop 34,505

mission

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Organized effort to spread the Christian faith. St. Paul evangelized much of Asia Minor and Greece, and the new religion spread rapidly along the trade routes of the Roman Empire. The advance of Christianity slowed with the disintegration of the Roman Empire after AD 500 and the growth of Arab power in the 7th–8th century, but Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries continued to spread the faith in western and northern Europe, while missionaries of the Greek church in Constantinople worked in eastern Europe and Russia. Missions to Islamic areas and Asia began in the medieval period, and when Spain, Portugal, and France established overseas empires in the 16th century, the Roman Catholic church sent missionaries to the Americas and the Philippines. A renewed wave of Roman Catholic missionary work in the 19th century focused on Africa and Asia. Protestant churches were slower to undertake foreign missions, but in the 19th and early 20th century there was a great upsurge in Protestant missionary activity. Missionary work continues today, though it is often discouraged by the governments of former European colonies that have won independence.