- duty
- noun1 sth that you have to do because it is right or expectedADJECTIVE▪ contractual, legal, statutory (esp. BrE)▪
Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose.
▪ fiduciary▪the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders
▪ constitutional (esp. AmE)▪ general, primary▪the general duty of the police to preserve the peace
▪ professional▪ civic, public▪I feel it is my civic duty to vote.
▪ patriotic▪ Christian, religious▪ family, filial, parental▪ ethical, moral▪He felt it was his moral duty to help others.
▪ absolute, bounden (formal), sacred, solemn, sworn▪I feel it's my bounden duty to try and help her.
VERB + DUTY▪ have, owe (law)▪You have a legal duty to take reasonable care.
▪The company owes a duty of care to all its customers.
▪ carry out, do, fulfil/fulfill, meet, perform▪I suppose we'd better do our duty and report the accident.
▪She felt she had fulfilled her duty by providing him with a son.
▪ fail in▪He had failed in his duty to his daughter.
▪ breach, violate▪She had violated her legal duty of confidentiality.
▪ avoid, neglect, shirk▪I'd be shirking my duty if I didn't warn him.
▪ abandon▪I can't abandon my duty.
▪ assign, charge sb with, impose▪It was a duty imposed by her father.
▪ assume, take on▪He took on the duty of maintaining the family home.
DUTY + VERB▪ call▪I wanted to stop and chat, but duty called and I went back to the office.
PREPOSITION▪ under a/the duty▪You are under a statutory duty to keep accurate records.
▪ duty of▪It's the duty of each and every one of us to do their best for the team.
▪They have a duty of confidentiality.
▪ duty to, duty towards/toward▪They have a duty to their parents to work hard.
PHRASES▪ a breach of duty▪It was a clear breach of professional duty.
▪ do your duty by sb▪You feel that you have to do your duty by your children.
▪ be duty bound to do sth▪An employer is not duty bound to provide a reference when an employee leaves.
▪ (above and) beyond the call of duty▪The time he put in helping new recruits went beyond the call of duty.
▪ duty done▪She put down the phone and went out, her duty done.
▪ feel it your duty to do sth▪I felt it my duty to go to the police.
▪ in breach of a duty (formal, esp. BrE)▪It was ruled that the injured man was in breach of his duty by not wearing the safety equipment provided.
▪ a sense of duty▪I did it out of a sense of duty.
2 tasks that you do when you are at workADJECTIVE▪ light▪When I returned to work after my illness I was put on light duties.
▪ onerous (esp. BrE)▪ day, night▪At 10.45 p.m. she reported for night duty.
▪ combat (esp. AmE), escort, guard, occupation (esp. AmE), patrol, peacekeeping, point (BrE), sentry▪The troops are here to perform peacekeeping duties.
▪The traffic lights were not working so there was a policeman on point duty.
▪ active, inactive (in the military)▪He's been suspended from active duty.
▪ daily, regular, routine▪ temporary▪ full-time, part-time▪ official▪ administrative, operational, professional, teaching▪ domestic, household▪My household duties were not particularly onerous.
▪ kitchen▪He was was on kitchen duty.
▪ assigned▪He was unable to perform his assigned duties because of ill health.
▪ military▪ jury (esp. AmE)▪Several years ago I was called for jury duty.
▪ double (esp. AmE)▪The regular presenter does double duty as a staff writer.
VERB + DUTY▪ have▪The members of staff each have their own duties.
▪ pull (AmE, informal)▪Sergeant Wilson had pulled parking-lot duty.
▪ see (military)▪veterans who saw combat duty in Vietnam
▪ carry out, complete, discharge, do, execute, perform, undertake▪She was unable to carry out her duties because she was too ill.
▪ handle (esp. AmE)▪The company prefers to handle translation duties in-house.
▪ come on, go on, report for▪Colleagues became suspicious when he failed to report for duty.
▪ come off, go off▪What time do you go off duty?
▪ avoid, neglect, shirk▪He was accused of neglecting his professional duties.
▪ resume, return to▪He leaves the hospital tomorrow and is expected to resume his duties at the beginning of next month.
▪ relinquish▪ be released from▪Her son was released from duty in the army to visit her in hospital.
▪ be relieved of, be suspended from▪When he failed to turn up for training, he was relieved of his duties as captain.
▪ share, split (esp. AmE)▪I share the cooking duties with Bell.
DUTY + VERB▪ fall to sb▪The cleaning duties now fell to Rachel.
DUTY + NOUN▪ manager (BrE), officer▪the supermarket's senior duty manager
▪He went to the police station and spoke to the duty officer.
▪ doctor, nurse (both esp. BrE)▪ station (AmE)▪The soldier was sent to his new duty station.
▪ assignment (AmE)▪He has volunteered for temporary duty assignments in counterterrorist activities.
PREPOSITION▪ off duty▪I'm off duty tomorrow night.
▪ on duty▪You're not allowed to drink alcohol on duty.
PHRASES▪ the execution of your duties, the performance of your duties▪The company is liable if you are injured during the execution of your duty.
3 taxADJECTIVE▪ heavy, high▪the heavy duty on cigarettes
▪ low▪ customs (esp. BrE), excise (BrE), export, import▪excise duty on spirits
▪ alcohol, fuel, tobacco, etc. (all BrE)▪Tobacco duty is a major source of revenue for the government.
▪ death (BrE, old-fashioned)▪ stamp (= a tax in the UK on some legal documents)▪The bank will urge ministers to raise the 1% stamp duty threshold.
… OF DUTY▪ amount▪We tried to estimate the amount of duty we would have to pay.
VERB + DUTY▪ impose, slap on sb/sth▪They are going to slap duty on foreign cars.
▪ increase, put up, raise▪They're going to put up the duty on tobacco.
▪ cut, lower, reduce▪ pay▪ avoid, evade▪They claim that the wine is for personal use and so evade the duty.
▪ be liable to▪Perfume is liable to import duty.
▪ be exempt from▪Beer for personal use is exempt from duty.
DUTY + VERB▪ be payable (BrE)▪There will also be stamp duty payable at the applicable rate.
PREPOSITION▪ in duty▪By changing its supplier, the company saved thousands of pounds in import duty.
▪ duty on▪You have to pay duty on all electrical goods.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
