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mission

noun
mis·​sion | \ ˈmi-shÉ™n How to pronounce mission (audio) \

Definition of mission

 (Entry 1 of 4)

1 obsolete : the act or an instance of sending
2a : a ministry commissioned by a religious organization to propagate (see propagate sense 3b) its faith or carry on humanitarian work organized a mission to the heathen natives
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 Spanish missions in California
d missions plural : organized missionary work
e : a course of sermons and services given to convert the unchurched or quicken Christian faith a preaching mission
3 : a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity: such as
a : a group sent to a foreign country to conduct diplomatic or political negotiations a member of a trade mission
b : a permanent embassy or legation
c : a team of specialists or cultural leaders sent to a foreign country served on a mission to improve agricultural methods
4a : a specific task with which a person or a group is charged Their mission was to help victims of the disaster.
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 Her mission was to be a teacher.

mission

verb
missioned; missioning\ ˈmi-​sh(É™-​)niÅ‹ How to pronounce missioning (audio) \

Definition of mission (Entry 2 of 4)

transitive verb

1 : to send on or entrust with a mission
2 : to carry on a religious mission among or in

mission

adjective

Definition of mission (Entry 3 of 4)

1 : of or relating to a style used in the early Spanish missions of the southwestern U.S. mission architecture
2 : of, relating to, or having the characteristic of a style of plain heavy usually oak furniture originating in the U.S. in the early part of the 20th century

Mission

geographical name
Mis·​sion | \ ˈmi-shÉ™n How to pronounce Mission (audio) \

Definition of Mission (Entry 4 of 4)

1 city near the Rio Grande in southern Texas population 77,058
2 municipality on the Fraser River in southwestern British Columbia, Canada population 36,426
Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about mission

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Did You Know?

Your own mission in life can be anything you pursue with almost religious enthusiasm. People with a mission—whether it's stopping drunk driving, keeping the town's public areas clean, increasing local recycling, or building a community center—very often succeed in really changing things.

Examples of mission in a Sentence

Noun

 Our mission was to recover the stolen plans. By patient negotiation she succeeded in her mission of averting a strike. a mission to the moon a member of a trade mission
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

 All of those represent Bowen’s mission going forward: The Buckeyes’ new starter at right tackle is also a new father. — Nathan Baird, cleveland.com, "How and why Branden Bowen persevered to win another starting job for the Ohio State Buckeyes," 29 Aug. 2019 Among Pluto’s fiercest defenders is Alan Stern, principal investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission, which sent a robotic spacecraft to Pluto in 2015. — NBC News, "Is Pluto a planet or a dwarf planet? NASA chief picks sides in emotional debate," 29 Aug. 2019 Two days later, Montgomery County math teacher Ali Daniels was on a similar mission, darting between Target and Staples in Greenbelt, Maryland. — Max Cohen, USA TODAY, "'Ridiculous': Teachers spend their own money to buy supplies for first day of school," 29 Aug. 2019 Another mission accomplished for two Marines who could not imagine failing. — John Blackstone, CBS News, "Veteran carries fellow Marine with no legs more than 14 miles up Utah mountain," 28 Aug. 2019 The mission, Fluhr told him, was still to get Hector. — AZCentral.com, "Don Bolles files: The case of Skippy Brazil, the drug informant who was set on fire," 28 Aug. 2019 On Sunday, the SuperTanker successfully completed four missions, per a video shared on their Twitter. — Claudia Harmata, PEOPLE.com, "U.S. Company Sends Supertanker to Fight 'Unfathomable' Amazon Rainforest Fires," 26 Aug. 2019 In the 1870s, colonial police forcibly moved Aboriginal people off the land into reserves and religious missions, and farmers carved out stations (ranches). — David Maurice Smith, Smithsonian, "A 42,000-Year-Old Man Finally Goes Home," 23 Aug. 2019 As with all previous Moon missions, national prestige is a big part of India’s Moon shot. — Nicholas Borroz, Quartz India, "There’s much more than national prestige driving India’s ambitious moon mission," 21 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mission.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of mission

Noun

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1692, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for mission

Noun, Verb, and Adjective

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

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