duty

[doo-tee, dyoo-]

noun

plural

duties 

1. something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation.

2. the binding or obligatory force of something that is morally or legally right; moral or legal obligation.

3. an action or task required by a person's position or occupation; function.

   the duties of a clergyman.

   Synonyms: role, place, concern

4. the respectful and obedient conduct due a parent, superior, elder, etc.

   Synonyms: impost, assessment, task, job, chore, assignment, devoir, charge, burden, obligation, responsibility, commitment, tithe, toll, tariff, levy

5. an act or expression of respect.

6. a task or chore that a person is expected to perform.

   It's your duty to do the dishes.

7. Military.

   1. an assigned task, occupation, or place of service.

      He was on radar duty for two years.

   2. the military service required of a citizen by a country.

      After graduation, he began his duty.

8. Commerce.,  a specific or ad valorem tax imposed by law on the import or export of goods.

9. a payment, service, etc., imposed and enforceable by law or custom.

10. Chiefly British.,  tax.

    income duty.

11. Machinery.

    1. the amount of work done by an engine per unit amount of fuel consumed.

    2. the measure of effectiveness of any machine.

12. Agriculture.,  the amount of water necessary to provide for the crop in a given area.

13. Baby Talk.,  bowel movement.

duty

/ ˈdjuːtɪ /

noun

1. a task or action that a person is bound to perform for moral or legal reasons

2. respect or obedience due to a superior, older persons, etc

   filial duty

3. the force that binds one morally or legally to one's obligations

4. a government tax, esp on imports

5. 1. the quantity or intensity of work for which a machine is designed

   2. a measure of the efficiency of a machine

6. the quantity of water necessary to irrigate an area of land to grow a particular crop

7. 1. a job or service allocated

   2. ( as modifier )

      duty rota

8. to act as a substitute for

9. not at work

10. at work

duty

1. A tax charged by a government, especially on an import.

Word History and Origins

Origin of duty¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English du(e)te, from Anglo-French duete; due, -ty ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of duty¹

C13: from Anglo-French dueté, from Old French deu _due

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on duty, at one's post or work; occupied; engaged.

   He was suspended from the force for being drunk while on duty.

2. do duty, to serve the same function; substitute for.

   bookcases that do duty as room dividers.

3. off duty, not at one's post or work; at liberty.

   They spent their days off duty in hiking and fishing.

More idioms and phrases containing duty

• above and beyond (the call of duty)
• active duty
• do one's duty
• double duty
• off duty
• on duty

Synonym Study

Duty, obligation refer to what one feels bound to do. Duty is what one performs, or avoids doing, in fulfillment of the permanent dictates of conscience, piety, right, or law: duty to one's country; one's duty to tell the truth, to raise children properly. An obligation is what one is bound to do to fulfill the dictates of usage, custom, or propriety, and to carry out a particular, specific, and often personal promise or agreement: financial obligations.

Example Sentences

Former England captain Steven Gerrard says he sometimes "hated" being on international duty and blames a lack of success with the Three Lions on key players being "egotistical losers".

From BBC

In 1943 he joined the Navy, where as a seaman he carried out general ship and gunnery duties on the Flower class corvette HMS Potentilla.

From BBC

What keeps him going, he says, isn’t optimism so much as duty.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s now my duty to bring forth these specific voices representing the minorities of a country that was built on the work of minorities.”

From Los Angeles Times

In addition to resuming its duties providing milk for the family farm, the goat can now go back to performing a second important job — helping prevent wildfires by grazing on flammable brush.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• burden 
• business 
• charge 
• chore 
• commission 
• commitment 
• contract 
• function 
• job 
• need 
• obligation 
• office 
• role 
• service 
• task 
• work