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DUTY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons
Example:
the duties of the job
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("duty" is a kind of...):
work (activity directed toward making or doing something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "duty"):
chore; job; task (a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee)
function; office; part; role (the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group)
assignment; duty assignment (a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the armed forces))
Derivation:
duteous (willingly obedient out of a sense of duty and respect)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
Example:
every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty
Synonyms:
duty; obligation; responsibility
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("duty" is a kind of...):
social control (control exerted (actively or passively) by group action)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "duty"):
demand; requirement (required activity)
prerequisite; requirement (something that is required in advance)
white man's burden (the supposed responsibility of the white race to provide care for their non-white subjects)
line of duty (all that is normally required in some area of responsibility)
legal duty (acts which the law requires be done or forborne)
incumbency (a duty that is incumbent upon you)
imperative (some duty that is essential and urgent)
filial duty (duty of a child to its parents)
civic duty; civic responsibility (the responsibilities of a citizen)
burden of proof (the duty of proving a disputed charge)
noblesse oblige (the obligation of those of high rank to be honorable and generous (often used ironically))
moral obligation (an obligation arising out of considerations of right and wrong)
guardianship; keeping; safekeeping (the responsibility of a guardian or keeper)
job (the responsibility to do something)
Derivation:
duteous (willingly obedient out of a sense of duty and respect)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A government tax on imports or exports
Example:
they signed a treaty to lower duties on trade between their countries
Synonyms:
duty; tariff
Classified under:
Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession
Hypernyms ("duty" is a kind of...):
indirect tax (a tax levied on goods or services rather than on persons or organizations)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "duty"):
custom; customs; customs duty; impost (money collected under a tariff)
tonnage; tonnage duty; tunnage (a tax imposed on ships that enter the US; based on the tonnage of the ship)
octroi (a tax on various goods brought into a town)
revenue tariff (a tariff imposed to raise revenue)
protective tariff (a tariff imposed to protect domestic firms from import competition)
import duty (a duty imposed on imports)
export duty (a duty imposed on exports)
countervailing duty (a duty imposed to offset subsidies by foreign governments)
Context examples:
His duty in the game is exactly to heal.
(Brazilian professor creates mobile game that combines fun with mathematics, Agência Brasil)
Duties include accepts/rejects membership to an account, assigns and edits access permissions and resets/revokes user passwords.
(Account Administrator, NCI Thesaurus)
The next day it came out in the evening papers that Private Miles, of the Coldstream Guards, on duty outside Marlborough House, had deserted his post without leave, and was therefore courtmartialed.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I think we will carry on fighting, because I feel it is our duty to do so, But I think we should set the EU limit at 3 volts/metre.
(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)
Other factors beyond the scope of the study, such as family duties, also could play a role in affecting workers' blood pressure, he said.
(High Blood Pressure Liked to Long Hours on Job, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
A household activity that must be done regularly as a duty.
(Chore, NCI Thesaurus)
Activities involved in the performance of executive, supervisory, or managerial duties.
(Administrative Activity, NCI Thesaurus)
Were you on duty all day yesterday?
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Go to the cook and learn your duties.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
His face was set, and high duty seemed to shine through it; the sight of it gave us courage so that our voices seemed to ring through the little vault.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
