mission

¹

[ mish-uhn ]

noun

1. a group or committee of persons sent to a foreign country to conduct negotiations, establish relations, provide scientific and technical assistance, or the like.
2. the business with which such a group is charged.
3. any important task or duty that is assigned, allotted, or self-imposed:

   Our mission is to find the child a safe home.

4. an important goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation:

   She has finally found her mission in life.

5. a sending or being sent for some duty or purpose.
6. those sent.
7. Also called foreign mission. a permanent diplomatic establishment abroad; embassy; legation.
8. Military. an operational task, usually assigned by a higher headquarters:

   a mission to bomb the bridge.

9. Aerospace. an operation designed to carry out the goals of a specific program:

   a space mission.

10. 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.
11. an establishment of missionaries in a foreign land; a missionary church or station.
12. a similar establishment in any region.
13. the district assigned to a missionary.
14. missionary duty or work.
15. an organization for carrying on missionary work.
16. Also called rescue mission. a shelter operated by a church or other organization offering food, lodging, and other assistance to needy persons.
17. missions, organized missionary work or activities in any country or region.
18. a church or a region dependent on a larger church or denomination.
19. a series of special religious services for increasing religious devotion and converting unbelievers:

    to preach a mission.

adjective

1. of or relating to a mission.
2. (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.

Mission

²

[ mish-uhn ]

noun

1. a city in S Texas.

mission

/ ˈmɪʃən /

noun

1. a specific task or duty assigned to a person or group of people

   their mission was to irrigate the desert

2. a person's vocation (often in the phrase mission in life )
3. a group of persons representing or working for a particular country, business, etc, in a foreign country
4. 1. a special embassy sent to a foreign country for a specific purpose
   2. a permanent legation
5. 1. a group of people sent by a religious body, esp a Christian church, to a foreign country to do religious and social work
   2. the campaign undertaken by such a group
6. 1. the work or calling of a missionary
   2. a building or group of buildings in which missionary work is performed
   3. the area assigned to a particular missionary
7. the dispatch of aircraft or spacecraft to achieve a particular task
8. a church or chapel that has no incumbent of its own
9. a charitable centre that offers shelter, aid, or advice to the destitute or underprivileged
10. modifier of or relating to an ecclesiastical mission

    a mission station

11. a long and difficult process
12. modifier (of furniture) in the style of the early Spanish missions of the southwestern US

verb

1. tr to direct a mission to or establish a mission in (a given region)

Other Words From

• mission·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mission¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; 1925–30 mission fordef 8; from Latin missiōn-, stem of missiō “dismissal,” literally, “a sending,” equivalent to miss(us) (past participle of mittere “to send”) + -iō -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of mission¹

C16: from Latin missiō, from mittere to send

Example Sentences

"Distractions from that mission should be jettisoned... We must use officers' time to protect the public and catch criminals. Offensive speech is not the same as illegal speech."

From BBC

Projects by Israeli nonprofits to introduce this species and other non-native trees, in other words, may not be conducive to their stated mission of "making the desert bloom."

From Salon

SpaceX has a $4-billion contract to develop a “lunar lander” version of the Starship spacecraft that can return astronauts on the moon as part of its Artemis III mission scheduled for September 2026.

From Los Angeles Times

In an Earth-like setting, eating was often social, but eating in space on long missions can feel quite different, Low said.

From Science Daily

But she said more evidence was required to ensure the "overall missions" of the Starmer government would be delivered, adding her department currently lacked “basic information” required to assess forces.

From BBC