English Dictionary
Definition of “duty”
duty (ˈdjuːtɪ
)
Definitions
noun
- a task or action that a person is bound to perform for moral or legal reasons
- respect or obedience due to a superior, older persons, etc ⇒
filial duty
- the force that binds one morally or legally to one's obligations
- a government tax, esp on imports
- British
- the quantity or intensity of work for which a machine is designed
- a measure of the efficiency of a machine
- the quantity of water necessary to irrigate an area of land to grow a particular crop
- a job or service allocated
- ((as modifier) ⇒
duty rota
- See do duty for
- See off duty
- See on duty
Word Origin
C13: from Anglo-French dueté, from Old French deudue
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
responsibility,
job,
task,
work,
calling,
business,
service,
office,
charge,
role,
function,
mission,
province,
obligation,
assignment,
pigeon,
onus,
Quotations
"Our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires but according to our powers"
Henri Frédéric Amiel"Without duty, life is soft and boneless; it cannot hold itself together"
Joseph Joubert"When a stupid man is doing something that he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty"
George Bernard Shaw"Do your duty, and leave the outcome to the Gods"
Pierre Corneille"England expects that every man will do his duty"
Horatio Nelson"Duty, honour! We make these words say whatever we want, the same as we do with parrots"
Alfred Capus
Translations
- British English:
duty
Duty is the work that you have to do as your job.Staff must report for duty at their normal place of work.ˈdjuːtɪ NOUN Staff must report for duty at their normal place of work.
- Spanish:
deber
nm
- French:
devoir
nm
- German:
Pflicht
nf
- Chinese: 关税 n
- Arabic: وَاجِب n
- Portuguese: dever nm
- Russian: долг nm
- Croatian: dužnost nf
- Czech: povinnost nf
- Danish: pligt nutr
- Dutch: plicht n
- Finnish: velvollisuus n
- Greek: καθήκον nnt
- Italian: dovere nm
- Japanese: 任務 n
- Korean: 임무 n
- Norwegian: plikt nm
- Polish: obowiązek nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: dever nm
- European Spanish:
deber
nm
- Swedish: plikt nutr
- Thai: หน้าที่ n
- Turkish: görev n
- Vietnamese: nghĩa vụ n
Usage examples
There was only one clerk on duty , a young dark-haired man who was obviously Asian.
Jon Cleary, YESTERDAY'S SHADOW (2002)The proven need to replace fossil fuels and the clear duty to protect the countryside clash when it comes to siting giant turbines.
Country Life (2005)Patients were tripping over trolleys and falling off trolleys and staff were being attacked while on duty.
Irish Times (2002)They were not to pull up beside a policeman on points duty to ask a question others could answer.
Glasgow Herald (2001)That's also the reason for the female cadres of the Imperial Guard - their primary duty is guarding the women.
Alma Alexander, THE SECRETS OF JIN-SHEI (2004)
