noun
1 sth that you have to do because it is right or expected
ADJECTIVE
▪ contractual , legal , statutory ( esp. BrE )
▪
Retailers have a statutory ~ to provide goods suitable for their purpose.
▪ fiduciary
▪
the company's fiduciary ~ to its shareholders
▪ constitutional ( esp. AmE )
▪ general , primary
▪
the general ~ of the police to preserve the peace
▪ professional
▪ civic , public
▪
I feel it is my civic ~ to vote.
▪ patriotic
▪ Christian , religious
▪ family , filial , parental
▪ ethical , moral
▪
He felt it was his moral ~ to help others.
▪ absolute , bounden ( formal ), sacred , solemn , sworn
▪
I feel it's my bounden ~ to try and help her.
VERB + DUTY
▪ have , owe ( law )
▪
You have a legal ~ to take reasonable care.
▪
The company owes a ~ of care to all its customers.
▪ carry out , do , fulfil/fulfill , meet , perform
▪
I suppose we'd better do our ~ and report the accident.
▪
She felt she had fulfilled her ~ by providing him with a son.
▪ fail in
▪
He had failed in his ~ to his daughter.
▪ breach , violate
▪
She had violated her legal ~ of confidentiality.
▪ avoid , neglect , shirk
▪
I'd be shirking my ~ if I didn't warn him.
▪ abandon
▪
I can't abandon my ~.
▪ assign , charge sb with , impose
▪
It was a ~ imposed by her father.
▪ assume , take on
▪
He took on the ~ of maintaining the family home.
DUTY + VERB
▪ call
▪
I wanted to stop and chat, but ~ called and I went back to the office.
PREPOSITION
▪ under a/the ~
▪
You are under a statutory ~ to keep accurate records.
▪ ~ of
▪
It's the ~ of each and every one of us to do their best for the team.
▪
They have a ~ of confidentiality.
▪ ~ to , ~ towards/toward
▪
They have a ~ to their parents to work hard.
PHRASES
▪ a breach of ~
▪
It was a clear breach of professional ~.
▪ do your ~ by sb
▪
You feel that you have to do your ~ by your children.
▪ be ~ bound to do sth
▪
An employer is not ~ bound to provide a reference when an employee leaves.
▪ (above and) beyond the call of ~
▪
The time he put in helping new recruits went beyond the call of ~.
▪ ~ done
▪
She put down the phone and went out, her ~ done.
▪ feel it your ~ to do sth
▪
I felt it my ~ to go to the police.
▪ in breach of a ~ ( formal , esp. BrE )
▪
It was ruled that the injured man was in breach of his ~ by not wearing the safety equipment provided.
▪ a sense of ~
▪
I did it out of a sense of ~.
2 tasks that you do when you are at work
ADJECTIVE
▪ light
▪
When I returned to work after my illness I was put on light duties.
▪ onerous ( esp. BrE )
▪ day , night
▪
At 10.45 p.m. she reported for night ~.
▪ combat ( esp. AmE ), escort , guard , occupation ( esp. AmE ), patrol , peacekeeping , point ( BrE ), sentry
▪
The troops are here to perform peacekeeping duties.
▪
The traffic lights were not working so there was a policeman on point ~.
▪ active , inactive (in the military)
▪
He's been suspended from active ~.
▪ daily , regular , routine
▪ temporary
▪ full-time , part-time
▪ official
▪ administrative , operational , professional , teaching
▪ domestic , household
▪
My household duties were not particularly onerous.
▪ kitchen
▪
He was was on kitchen ~.
▪ assigned
▪
He was unable to perform his assigned duties because of ill health.
▪ military
▪ jury ( esp. AmE )
▪
Several years ago I was called for jury ~.
▪ double ( esp. AmE )
▪
The regular presenter does double ~ as a staff writer.
VERB + DUTY
▪ have
▪
The members of staff each have their own duties.
▪ pull ( AmE , informal )
▪
Sergeant Wilson had pulled parking-lot ~.
▪ see ( military )
▪
veterans who saw combat ~ in Vietnam
▪ carry out , complete , discharge , do , execute , perform , undertake
▪
She was unable to carry out her duties because she was too ill.
▪ handle ( esp. AmE )
▪
The company prefers to handle translation duties in-house.
▪ come on , go on , report for
▪
Colleagues became suspicious when he failed to report for ~.
▪ come off , go off
▪
What time do you go off ~?
▪ avoid , neglect , shirk
▪
He was accused of neglecting his professional duties.
▪ resume , return to
▪
He leaves the hospital tomorrow and is expected to resume his duties at the beginning of next month.
▪ relinquish
▪ be released from
▪
Her son was released from ~ 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.
▪ share , split ( esp. AmE )
▪
I share the cooking duties with Bell.
DUTY + VERB
▪ fall to sb
▪
The cleaning duties now fell to Rachel.
DUTY + NOUN
▪ manager ( BrE ), officer
▪
the supermarket's senior ~ manager
▪
He went to the police station and spoke to the ~ officer.
▪ doctor , nurse (both esp. BrE )
▪ station ( AmE )
▪
The soldier was sent to his new ~ station.
▪ assignment ( AmE )
▪
He has volunteered for temporary ~ assignments in counterterrorist activities.
PREPOSITION
▪ off ~
▪
I'm off ~ tomorrow night.
▪ on ~
▪
You're not allowed to drink alcohol on ~.
PHRASES
▪ the execution of your duties , the performance of your duties
▪
The company is liable if you are injured during the execution of your ~.
3 tax
ADJECTIVE
▪ heavy , high
▪
the heavy ~ on cigarettes
▪ low
▪ customs ( esp. BrE ), excise ( BrE ), export , import
▪
excise ~ on spirits
▪ alcohol , fuel , tobacco , etc. (all BrE )
▪
Tobacco ~ is a major source of revenue for the government.
▪ death ( BrE , old-fashioned )
▪ stamp (= a tax in the UK on some legal documents)
▪
The bank will urge ministers to raise the 1% stamp ~ threshold.
… OF DUTY
▪ amount
▪
We tried to estimate the amount of ~ we would have to pay.
VERB + DUTY
▪ impose , slap on sb/sth
▪
They are going to slap ~ on foreign cars.
▪ increase , put up , raise
▪
They're going to put up the ~ on tobacco.
▪ cut , lower , reduce
▪ pay
▪ avoid , evade
▪
They claim that the wine is for personal use and so evade the ~.
▪ be liable to
▪
Perfume is liable to import ~.
▪ be exempt from
▪
Beer for personal use is exempt from ~.
DUTY + VERB
▪ be payable ( BrE )
▪
There will also be stamp ~ payable at the applicable rate.
PREPOSITION
▪ in ~
▪
By changing its supplier, the company saved thousands of pounds in import ~.
▪ ~ on
▪
You have to pay ~ on all electrical goods.