duty

[doo-tee, dyoo-] /ˈdu ti, ˈdyu-/
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.
4.
the respectful and obedient conduct due a parent, superior, elder, etc.
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.
Idioms
14.
do duty, to serve the same function; substitute for:
bookcases that do duty as room dividers.
15.
off duty, not at one's post or work; at liberty:
They spent their days off duty in hiking and fishing.
16.
on duty, at one's post or work; occupied; engaged:
He was suspended from the force for being drunk while on duty.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English du(e)te < Anglo-French duete. See due, -ty2
Synonyms
1. 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. 3. responsibility, business. 4. deference.
Examples from the web for duties
  • Customs duties have fallen as trade barriers have been reduced.
  • Both take turns incubating their single egg and defending the nest, and both share duties in rearing the hatchling.
  • Human testers traditionally have pulled such pungent duties.
  • Meanwhile, purely robotic systems will take over other space duties.
  • Other duties may include writing complex stored procedures, load performance, optimization.
  • Three years later new imports were taking nearly half the market, despite high duties.
  • Fulfilling your duties as a scientist does not excuse you from your duties as a member of the human community.
  • Some needed to be able to read, write, and do sums simply because their duties necessitated such.
  • Hatchlings remain in the nest for up to a month, and the parents alternate foraging and brooding duties.
  • Even if those hosts shut down, the network remains largely intact, and other hosts can take over those duties.
British Dictionary definitions for duties

duty

/ˈdjuːtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
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.
(Brit)
  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.
do duty for, to act as a substitute for
9.
off duty, not at work
10.
on duty, at work
Word Origin
C13: from Anglo-French dueté, from Old French deudue
Word Origin and History for duties

duty

n.

late 13c., from Anglo-French duete, from Old French deu "due, owed; proper, just," from Vulgar Latin *debutus, from Latin debitus, past participle of debere "to owe" (see debt). Related: Duties. The sense of "tax or fee on imports, exports, etc." is from late 15c.; duty-free as a noun is attested from 1958.

duties in Culture

duty definition


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

Slang definitions & phrases for duties

duty

Related Terms

pad duty, rack duty, sack duty


Idioms and Phrases with duties

duty

In addition to the idiom beginning with
duty
also see: