duty-bound
adjective
morally obliged as a matter of duty
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duty bound
duty boundObliged, as in You're duty bound to help your little brother. [c. 1900]
duty-bound
Britishadjective
duty bound
Idioms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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That’s because managers of stock index funds are duty-bound to add a stock to their holdings once it’s added to the index they track.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
To Williams, it hinted at a more menacing scenario — at secret ties between those who threaten the rule of the law and those duty-bound to enforce it.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
Sometimes, a patient makes an unconventional choice, but if the patient is competent and the request is fundamentally reasonable, the physician is duty-bound to comply.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2024
Simon Baker KC, representing the Post Office, said while the company was duty-bound to investigate the case based on evidence available at the time, the case "amounts to an abuse of process".
From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2024
The Bronchettes, no longer duty-bound to cheer and serve up those reedy, screechy screams, started dancing away with abandon, their faces fresh and unvarnished by lipstick or rouge powder.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
“The county prosecutors are duty bound to follow Ohio law,” he wrote, noting that the memo would suffice as his office’s only comment on the matter.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
“The county prosecutors are duty bound to follow Ohio law,” he wrote, noting that the memo would suffice as he office’s only comment on the matter.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
In his resignation letter, Mr Raab says he feels "duty bound" to accept the outcome of the inquiry but describes its findings as "flawed".
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2023
“I feel duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry,” Raab said in his resignation statement, adding that he was “genuinely sorry.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2023
To Aron’s questions he replied that he was working on a surprise and was duty bound to tell no one.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
