Duty

[doo-tee, dyoo-] /ˈdu ti, ˈdyu-/

noun, plural duties.
1.
something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation.
2.
the binding or obligatory force of something that is morally or legally right; moral or legal obligation.
3.
an action or task required by a person’s position or occupation; function:
the duties of a clergyman.
4.
the respectful and obedient conduct due a parent, superior, elder, etc.
5.
an act or expression of respect.
6.
a task or chore that a person is expected to perform:
It’s your duty to do the dishes.
7.
Military.

8.
Commerce. a specific or ad valorem tax imposed by law on the import or export of goods.
9.
a payment, service, etc., imposed and enforceable by law or custom.
10.
Chiefly British. tax:
income duty.
11.
Machinery.

12.
Agriculture. the amount of water necessary to provide for the crop in a given area.
13.
Baby Talk. bowel movement.
Idioms
14.
do duty, to serve the same function; substitute for:
bookcases that do duty as room dividers.
15.
off duty, not at one’s post or work; at liberty:
They spent their days off duty in hiking and fishing.
16.
on duty, at one’s post or work; occupied; engaged:
He was suspended from the force for being drunk while on duty.
/ˈdjuːtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1.
a task or action that a person is bound to perform for moral or legal reasons
2.
respect or obedience due to a superior, older persons, etc: filial duty
3.
the force that binds one morally or legally to one’s obligations
4.
a government tax, esp on imports
5.
(Brit)

6.
the quantity of water necessary to irrigate an area of land to grow a particular crop
7.

8.
do duty for, to act as a substitute for
9.
off duty, not at work
10.
on duty, at work
n.

late 13c., from Anglo-French duete, from Old French deu “due, owed; proper, just,” from Vulgar Latin *debutus, from Latin debitus, past participle of debere “to owe” (see debt). Related: Duties. The sense of “tax or fee on imports, exports, etc.” is from late 15c.; duty-free as a noun is attested from 1958.

A tax charged by a government, especially on an import.

Related Terms

pad duty, rack duty, sack duty
In addition to the idiom beginning with
duty