mis·sion / ˈmishən/ • n. an important assignment carried out for political, religious, or commercial purposes, typically involving travel: a fact-finding mission to China. ∎  [treated as sing. or pl.] a group of people taking part in such an assignment: by then, the mission had journeyed more than 3,500 miles. ∎  [in sing.] an organization or institution involved in a long-term assignment in a foreign country: the majestic garden of the West German mission | [as adj.] the mission school. ∎  the vocation or calling of a religious organization, esp. a Christian one, to go out into the world and spread its faith: the Christian mission | Gandhi's attitude to mission and conversion. ∎  a strongly felt aim, ambition, or calling: his main mission in life has been to cut unemployment. ∎  an expedition into space. ∎  an operation carried out by military aircraft at a time of conflict: he was shot down on a supply mission.

Mission city (1990 pop. 28,653), Hidalgo co., extreme S Tex.; inc. 1910. It is a processing and canning center for citrus fruits (especially grapefruit) and vegetables grown in the irrigated lower Rio Grande valley. Consumer goods and concrete are manufactured, and oil wells are also in Mission. The city was founded on property that had belonged to the Oblate Fathers; their chapel still stands by the Rio Grande.

mission mission creep a gradual shift in objectives during the course of a military campaign, often resulting in an unplanned long-term commitment.
mission statement a formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual; a concept which won an important place in the business jargon of the 1990s, although opinions were divided as to the effective value of such expressions of aspiration.

mission † sending, esp. abroad XVI; sending forth on a service (spec. Mission of the Holy Ghost) or with authority; body of persons sent; commission, errand XVII; establishment of missionaries XVIII; personal duty or vocation XIX; operational sortie XX. — F. mission or L. missiō, -ōn-, f. miss-, pp. stem of mittere let go, send; see -ION.
So missionary XVII.

mission n.
1. the task, together with the purpose, that clearly indicates the action to be taken and the reason for it.

2. in common usage, especially when applied to lower military units, a duty assigned to an individual or unit; a task.

3. the dispatching of one or more aircraft to accomplish one particular task.

Mission

a body of persons sent to a foreign country to conduct negotiations, 1626; such a body sent by a religious community for the conversion of the heathen, 1622—Wilkes.

Mission, Canada, USA USA (Texas): settled in 1908 and named after a Franciscan mission established nearby in 1824.

mission •ashen, fashion, passion, ration •abstraction, action, attraction, benefaction, compaction, contraction, counteraction, diffraction, enaction, exaction, extraction, faction, fraction, interaction, liquefaction, malefaction, petrifaction, proaction, protraction, putrefaction, redaction, retroaction, satisfaction, stupefaction, subtraction, traction, transaction, tumefaction, vitrifaction •expansion, mansion, scansion, stanchion •sanction •caption, contraption •harshen, Martian •cession, discretion, freshen, session •abjection, affection, circumspection, collection, complexion, confection, connection, convection, correction, defection, deflection, dejection, detection, direction, ejection, election, erection, genuflection, imperfection, infection, inflection, injection, inspection, insurrection, interconnection, interjection, intersection, introspection, lection, misdirection, objection, perfection, predilection, projection, protection, refection, reflection, rejection, resurrection, retrospection, section, selection, subjection, transection, vivisection •exemption, pre-emption, redemption •abstention, apprehension, ascension, attention, circumvention, comprehension, condescension, contention, contravention, convention, declension, detention, dimension, dissension, extension, gentian, hypertension, hypotension, intention, intervention, invention, mention, misapprehension, obtention, pension, prehension, prevention, recension, retention, subvention, supervention, suspension, tension •conception, contraception, deception, exception, inception, interception, misconception, perception, reception •Übermenschen • subsection •ablation, aeration, agnation, Alsatian, Amerasian, Asian, aviation, cetacean, citation, conation, creation, Croatian, crustacean, curation, Dalmatian, delation, dilation, donation, duration, elation, fixation, Galatian, gyration, Haitian, halation, Horatian, ideation, illation, lavation, legation, libation, location, lunation, mutation, natation, nation, negation, notation, nutation, oblation, oration, ovation, potation, relation, rogation, rotation, Sarmatian, sedation, Serbo-Croatian, station, taxation, Thracian, vacation, vexation, vocation, zonation •accretion, Capetian, completion, concretion, deletion, depletion, Diocletian, excretion, Grecian, Helvetian, repletion, Rhodesian, secretion, suppletion, Tahitian, venetian •academician, addition, aesthetician (US esthetician), ambition, audition, beautician, clinician, coition, cosmetician, diagnostician, dialectician, dietitian, Domitian, edition, electrician, emission, fission, fruition, Hermitian, ignition, linguistician, logician, magician, mathematician, Mauritian, mechanician, metaphysician, mission, monition, mortician, munition, musician, obstetrician, omission, optician, paediatrician (US pediatrician), patrician, petition, Phoenician, physician, politician, position, rhetorician, sedition, statistician, suspicion, tactician, technician, theoretician, Titian, tuition, volition •addiction, affliction, benediction, constriction, conviction, crucifixion, depiction, dereliction, diction, eviction, fiction, friction, infliction, interdiction, jurisdiction, malediction, restriction, transfixion, valediction •distinction, extinction, intinction •ascription, circumscription, conscription, decryption, description, Egyptian, encryption, inscription, misdescription, prescription, subscription, superscription, transcription •proscription •concoction, decoction •adoption, option •abortion, apportion, caution, contortion, distortion, extortion, portion, proportion, retortion, torsion •auction •absorption, sorption •commotion, devotion, emotion, groschen, Laotian, locomotion, lotion, motion, notion, Nova Scotian, ocean, potion, promotion •ablution, absolution, allocution, attribution, circumlocution, circumvolution, Confucian, constitution, contribution, convolution, counter-revolution, destitution, dilution, diminution, distribution, electrocution, elocution, evolution, execution, institution, interlocution, irresolution, Lilliputian, locution, perlocution, persecution, pollution, prosecution, prostitution, restitution, retribution, Rosicrucian, solution, substitution, volution •cushion • resumption • München •pincushion •Belorussian, Prussian, Russian •abduction, conduction, construction, deduction, destruction, eduction, effluxion, induction, instruction, introduction, misconstruction, obstruction, production, reduction, ruction, seduction, suction, underproduction •avulsion, compulsion, convulsion, emulsion, expulsion, impulsion, propulsion, repulsion, revulsion •assumption, consumption, gumption, presumption •luncheon, scuncheon, truncheon •compunction, conjunction, dysfunction, expunction, function, junction, malfunction, multifunction, unction •abruption, corruption, disruption, eruption, interruption •T-junction • liposuction •animadversion, aspersion, assertion, aversion, Cistercian, coercion, conversion, desertion, disconcertion, dispersion, diversion, emersion, excursion, exertion, extroversion, immersion, incursion, insertion, interspersion, introversion, Persian, perversion, submersion, subversion, tertian, version •excerption