Definition

1. Noun:
   • A moral or legal obligation; a responsibility: A task or action one is required to perform because of moral principles, social norms, or legal requirements.
   • A task or function required as part of one's job or position: The specific work one is expected to do in a professional or official role.
   • A government tax, especially on imports or exports: A charge levied by a state on goods entering or leaving the country.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Moral/Legal Obligation):
  • It is every citizen's duty to vote.
  • He felt a strong sense of duty to help his family.
• Noun (Job Task):
  • Her duties include answering the phone and managing the schedule.
  • The soldier was on guard duty.
• Noun (Tax):
  • The government imposed a new duty on luxury car imports.
  • They paid the customs duty at the border.

Advanced Usage

• To be on/off duty: Refers to being officially scheduled to work or not.
  • The doctor is on duty tonight at the hospital.
  • Police officers are not allowed to drink alcohol while on duty.
• To do one's duty: To fulfill one's responsibility or obligation.
  • He did his duty and reported the accident.
• A duty of care: (Legal) A specific legal obligation to avoid acts that could foreseeably harm others.
  • Teachers have a duty of care towards their students.

Variants and Related Words

• Dutiful (adj): Conscientiously fulfilling one's duties; obedient.
  • She is a dutiful daughter who always helps her parents.
• Duty-bound (adj): Obliged by duty.
  • I feel duty-bound to tell you the truth.
• Duty-free (adj/adv): Exempt from payment of tax or duty.
  • She bought perfume at the duty-free shop.

Synonyms

• Obligation: Something one is bound to do by law, promise, or morality.
• Responsibility: The state of being accountable for something.
• Task: A piece of work to be done.
• Tariff: A tax on imports or exports.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• To report for duty: To arrive and announce oneself ready for work, especially in military or service contexts.
  • The new recruits must report for duty at 0600 hours.

Related Idioms

• As duty calls: Used to say one must leave to attend to one's responsibilities.
  • I'd love to stay, but duty calls.
• Above and beyond the call of duty: Doing more than what is required by one's job or obligation.
  • The firefighter's bravery was above and beyond the call of duty.

Noun

1. a government tax on imports or exports
   • they signed a treaty to lower duties on trade between their countries
2. work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons
   • the duties of the job
3. the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty"- John D.Rockefeller Jr
   • we must instill a sense of duty in our children
   • every right implies a responsibility