duty
see also: Duty
Pronunciation Noun

duty

  1. That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.
    We don't have a duty to keep you here.
    • 1805, 21 October, Horatio_Nelson,_1st_Viscount_Nelson
      England expects that every man will do his duty.
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314 ↗, page 0105 ↗:
      Captain Edward Carlisle […] felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, […]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.
  2. The state of being at work and responsible for or doing a particular task.
    I’m on duty from 6 pm to 6 am.
  3. A tax placed on imports or exports; a tariff.
    customs duty; excise duty
  4. (obsolete) One's due, something one is owed; a debt or fee.
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Gospel of Matthew XX:
      Take that which is thy duty, and goo thy waye.
  5. (obsolete) Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act V, scene ii]:
      my duty to you
  6. The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).
Synonyms Antonyms Related terms Translations Translations Translations
Duty
Proper noun
  1. Surname



This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.002
Offline English dictionary