What does errand mean?
An errand is a short journey made in order to accomplish a specific task, most often a small practical job such as posting a letter, collecting groceries, or delivering a message on someone's behalf. The word can also denote the task or purpose itself, as when someone asks what your errand might be. In modern usage it is a familiar, everyday term with a neutral to informal tone, most often heard in phrases like "running errands," which describes the routine round of small chores that fill part of daily life. Because errands are by nature minor and practical, the word carries connotations of ordinariness and domesticity rather than importance, though it can be used figuratively — as in "a fool's errand" — to describe any pointless undertaking. Derivatives such as "errand boy" reflect its long association with humble, service-oriented work.
A short trip made to perform a specific task, especially one involving delivering or collecting something for another person.
"She sent her son on an errand to fetch some bread."
Often used in the plural to describe a series of such tasks: "I have several errands to run today."
The specific purpose or mission of such a trip; the message or item to be conveyed.
"What brings you here — have you some errand for me?"
This older sense survives chiefly in formal or literary contexts and in fixed phrases like "a fool's errand."
The plural refers to multiple tasks or trips and is very common in everyday speech, especially in the expression "to run errands."
"On Saturdays she spends the morning doing errands around town."
An "errand" began life as the message itself, not the trip — in Old English, the ǣrende was what you carried, not where you went.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of errand
"Errand" derives from the Old English noun ǣrende, meaning a message or mission, which in turn goes back to Proto-Germanic origins shared with cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Old Norse örindi. Originally the word referred to the message or commission being carried rather than the journey itself, and over the centuries its sense shifted toward the trip taken to fulfil that purpose. It has been in continuous use in English since the earliest written records of the language.
Related word forms
How errand is actually used
"Errand" is neutral to informal in register and appears frequently in everyday speech about household or workplace tasks. The plural "errands" commonly refers collectively to routine small trips. The phrase "a fool's errand" denotes a pointless or hopeless undertaking.
Easily confused with errand
"Errant" means wandering or straying, especially morally (as in "knight-errant"), while "errand" is a short journey made to complete a task.