mission: Meaning and Definition of

mis•sion

Pronunciation: (mish'un), [key]
— n.
  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. a permanent diplomatic establishment abroad; embassy; legation.
  4. an operational task, usually assigned by a higher headquarters: a mission to bomb the bridge.
  5. an operation designed to carry out the goals of a specific program: a space mission.
  6. a group of persons sent by a church to carry on religious work, esp. evangelization in foreign lands, and often to establish schools, hospitals, etc.
  7. an establishment of missionaries in a foreign land; a missionary church or station.
  8. a similar establishment in any region.
  9. the district assigned to a missionary.
  10. missionary duty or work.
  11. an organization for carrying on missionary work.
  12. Also calleda shelter operated by a church or other organization offering food, lodging, and other assistance to needy persons.
  13. organized missionary work or activities in any country or region.
  14. a church or a region dependent on a larger church or denomination.
  15. a series of special religious services for increasing religious devotion and converting unbelievers: to preach a mission.
  16. an assigned or self-imposed duty or task; calling; vocation.
  17. a sending or being sent for some duty or purpose.
  18. those sent.
—adj.
  1. of or pertaining to a mission.
  2. (usually cap.) 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. Also called

Mis•sion

Pronunciation: (mish'un), [key]
— n.
  1. a city in S Texas. 22,589.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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