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noun sth that you have to do because it is right or expected ADJ. contractual, legal, mandatory, statutory Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. | 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 | family, filial, parental | ethical, moral He felt it was his moral duty to help his neighbour. | absolute, bounden, fundamental, sacred, solemn 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 railway company owes a duty of care to all its customers. | carry out, do, fulfil, meet, perform She put down the phone and went out, her duty done. She felt she had fulfilled her duty by providing him with a son. | fail in He had failed in his duty towards his daughter. | neglect, shirk I'd be shirking my duty if I didn't warn him. | 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. PREP. under a/the ~ You are under a statutory duty to keep accurate records. | ~ 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. | ~ to, ~ towards 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 I suppose we'd better do our duty and report the accident. | 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. | feel it your duty to do sth I felt it my duty to go to the police. | in breach of a duty (formal) 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. tasks that you do when you are at work ADJ. light When I returned to work after my illness I was put on light duties. | onerous | day, night At 10.45 p.m. she reported for night duty. | beat, escort, guard, point, sentry Police usually do beat duty in pairs. The traffic lights were not working so there was a policeman on point duty. | daily, routine | official | administrative, professional, secretarial | domestic, household My household duties were not particularly onerous. | military VERB + DUTY have The members of staff each have their own duties. | carry out, discharge, do, perform She was unable to carry out her duties because she was too ill. | 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? | neglect, shirk He was accused of neglecting his professional duties. | resume, return to He leaves hospital tomorrow and is expected to resume his duties at the beginning of next month. | 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. DUTY + NOUN doctor, nurse, officer, pharmacist He went to the police station and spoke to the duty officer. PREP. off ~ I'm off duty tomorrow night. | on ~ You're not allowed to drink alcohol on duty. PHRASES the execution/performance of your duties The company is liable if you are injured during the execution of your duty. tax ADJ. heavy, high the heavy duty on cigarettes | low | customs, excise, export, import excise duty on spirits | alcohol, fuel, tobacco, etc. Tobacco duty is a major source of revenue for the government. | death QUANT. amount We tried to estimate the amount of duty we would have to pay. VERB + DUTY put on, slap on They are going to put duty on foreign cars. | take off | 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. | carry Cider carries duty at the lower rate. | be exempt from Beer for personal use is exempt from duty. PREP. in ~ By changing its supplier, the company saved thousands of pounds in import duty. | ~ on You have to pay duty on all electrical goods.
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duty verbs have a duty to do something • Parents have a duty to make sure that their children receive an education. do your duty • I felt I had done my duty by voting. fulfil your duty British English , fulfill your duty American English formal (= do what is needed ) • The school has failed to fulfil its legal duty towards students. have/owe a duty to somebody • A tenant owes a duty to the landlord to keep the house in reasonable condition. fail in your duty (= not do something that you should do ) • I would be failing in my duty if I didn't warn you of the dangers. adjectives a moral duty • She felt it was her moral duty to treat everyone equally. a legal duty • Employers have a legal duty to ensure the safety of their workforce. a statutory duty (= required by law ) • Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that parks are clean. a public duty (= relating to the people of a country ) • The media has a public duty to report the truth. a civic duty (= done because you live in a place ) • It is your civic duty to vote. phrases a sense of duty • He was caring for his parents out of a sense of duty rather than love. be duty-bound to do something formal (= have a duty to do something ) • Soldiers are here to do a job and are duty-bound to complete it. duty 2 verbs carry out your duties ( also perform/discharge your duties formal ) (= do your job ) • She has always carried out her duties efficiently. take up your duties (= start doing a new job ) • Neale has agreed a three-year contract and takes up his duties on March 1. resume your duties (= start doing your job again ) • She hopes to be well enough to resume her duties next week. report for duty (= arrive and be ready to start work ) • You must report for duty at 8:30 tomorrow morning. neglect/shirk your duties (= not do your job properly ) • No soldier can be allowed to neglect his duties. ADJECTIVES/NOUN + duty official duties • The new President will take up his official duties next month. presidential/royal/ministerial etc duties (= duties that go with being a president, member of a royal family, a minister etc ) • The prince is now old enough to carry out royal duties. household/domestic duties (= jobs you have to do around the house ) • My husband and I share most of the household duties. light duties (= not involving hard physical work ) • He'd been wounded, sent home and put on light duties. guard duty (= job of guarding a place ) • There were two soldiers on guard duty outside the embassy. phrases neglect of duty (= failing to do your job properly ) • Six police officers were fired for neglect of duty. a tour of duty (= period of working in another country as a soldier, government officer etc ) • He became a General, and his tours of duty included Korea and Vietnam. beyond the call of duty (= more than you have to do as part of your job ) • She's a doctor who has gone beyond the call of duty in her care for her patients. in the course of duty (= while doing your job, especially for your country ) • Stewart received a medal for outstanding bravery in the course of duty.