Definition

1. Noun:
   • A duty or task you are expected or required to do: A specific job or function that someone is obliged to perform.
   • The state of being accountable for something: The condition of having to answer for one's actions or decisions and to bear the consequences.
   • A moral obligation to behave correctly: The social force that compels one to follow a proper course of action.

Usage

• General Use: Used to describe a duty, obligation, or area of work one is in charge of.
• With Prepositions:
  • Responsibility for (something/someone): Indicates the thing or person one is accountable for.
  • Responsibility to (someone): Indicates the person or authority to whom one is accountable.
  • On one's own responsibility: Acting independently and accepting the consequences.

Examples

• Noun:
  • She has a lot of responsibility at her new job. (She has many duties she must perform.)
  • Parents have a responsibility for their children's well-being. (Parents are accountable for their children.)
  • He accepted full responsibility for the mistake. (He agreed that he was the one accountable for the error.)
  • It is your responsibility to lock the door. (Locking the door is your required task.)

Advanced Usage

• A sense of responsibility: An awareness and acceptance of one's duties.
  • A good leader must instill a sense of responsibility in the team.
• Position of responsibility: A role that involves significant duties and accountability.
  • He holds a position of great responsibility in the government.

Variants and Related Words

• Responsible (adj): Having an obligation to do something, or having control over or care for someone.
  • You are responsible for completing this report.
• Irresponsibility (n): Lack of a proper sense of duty or care.
  • His irresponsibility led to the project's failure.

Synonyms

• Duty: A moral or legal obligation.
• Obligation: Something one is bound to do by contract, promise, or morality.
• Accountability: The fact or condition of being responsible; answerability.

Related Phrases

• Take responsibility: To accept that you are the cause of something and/or accountable for it.
  • A good manager takes responsibility when things go wrong.
• Shirk responsibility: To avoid accepting a duty or obligation.
  • He always tries to shirk responsibility for difficult tasks.

Related Idioms

• The buck stops here: The responsibility for a problem or decision lies with a specific person and cannot be passed to anyone else.
  • As the CEO, she says "the buck stops here" for all major decisions.
• Carry the can (for something): To take the blame or responsibility for something, especially when it is not your fault.
  • He had to carry the can for his team's failure.

Noun

1. a form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's conduct
   • he holds a position of great responsibility
2. the proper sphere or extent of your activities
   • it was his province to take care of himself
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