take to task

T t

Definitions of take to task words

noun take to task a definite piece of work assigned to, falling to, or expected of a person; duty. 1
noun take to task any piece of work. 1
noun take to task a matter of considerable labor or difficulty. 1
noun take to task Obsolete. a tax or impost. 1
verb with object take to task to subject to severe or excessive labor or exertion; put a strain upon (powers, resources, etc.). 1
verb with object take to task to impose a task on. 1

before 1250

One of the 11% oldest English words

1250-1300; Middle English (noun) < Medieval Latin tasca, metathetic variant of taxa tax

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

animadvert — to comment with strong criticism (upon); make censorious remarks (about)
bawl out — If someone bawls you out, they shout at you angrily because you have done something wrong.
bring to book — to reprimand or require (someone) to give an explanation of his conduct
call down — to request or invoke
call on the carpet — (chiefly US) To reprimand; to censure severely or angrily.