Definition

1. Noun:
   • A short journey undertaken to deliver a message, collect or deliver goods, or perform a specific minor task: An "errand" is a brief trip made to accomplish a specific, often routine, chore or duty outside the home or usual place of work.
   • The purpose or object of such a trip: "Errand" can also refer to the specific task or mission itself that is the reason for the short trip.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • I need to run a quick errand to the post office.
  • She sent her son on an errand to buy milk.
  • My errand was to return the borrowed book to the library.

Advanced Usage

• "to run an errand / to run errands": This is the most common collocation, meaning to go out to perform one or several small tasks.
  • I have to run a few errands downtown this afternoon.
• "a fool's errand": An idiom describing a task or journey that is pointless, useless, or has no chance of success.
  • Trying to convince him to change his mind is a fool's errand.

Variants and Related Words

• Errand boy (n): A person, historically often a young boy, employed to run errands and deliver messages.
  • In the old days, offices had errand boys for deliveries.
• Errand runner (n): A more modern, gender-neutral term for someone who performs errands, sometimes as a paid service.

Synonyms

• Chore: A routine or minor task, especially a domestic one.
• Task: A piece of work to be done or undertaken.
• Mission: An important assignment, typically involving travel (more formal/serious than an errand).

Related Phrases

• "to go on an errand": A slightly more formal or old-fashioned way to say "to run an errand".
  • He went on an errand for his mother.

Related Idioms

• "a fool's errand": As defined in Advanced Usage.
  • Searching for the lost ring in the park was a fool's errand.

Noun

1. a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission