errand

[ er-uhnd ]

noun

1. a short and quick trip to accomplish a specific purpose, as to buy something, deliver a package, or convey a message, often for someone else.

   Synonyms: chore, assignment, task, mission

2. the purpose of such a trip:

   He finished his errands.

   Synonyms: chore, assignment, task, mission

3. a special mission or function entrusted to a messenger; commission.

errand

/ ˈɛrənd /

noun

1. a short trip undertaken to perform a necessary task or commission (esp in the phrase run errands )
2. the purpose or object of such a trip

Word History and Origins

Origin of errand¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English erande, Old English ærende; cognate with Old High German āruntī; compare Old English ār “messenger,” Gothic airus; not related to err ( def ), errant ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of errand¹

Old English ǣrende; related to ār messenger, Old Norse erendi message, Old High German ārunti, Swedish ärende

Idioms and Phrases

see fool's errand ; run an errand .

Example Sentences

“I looked over my shoulder for the two days afterward, honestly. I would drive to pick up the boys or drive to go run errands, and I would look over my shoulder.”

From Los Angeles Times

My third-grade teacher tried a few strategies, including sending me on errands invented just to get me out of the classroom.

From Los Angeles Times

Like, say, maintaining his X-rated shrubbery or reanimating dead flesh into a lumbering errand boy.

From Salon

Diya used to love swimming and walking his dogs, he did errands on his bicycle and photographed landscapes.

From BBC

Predicting the future is a fool's errand and we live in bizarre times.

From Salon