duty
/ˈdjuːti/
/ˈduːti/ noun (plural duties)Definition
› [C or U] LAW a responsibility to do something because it is legally or morally right to do it: Every lawyer has a strong sense of duty and responsibility.a duty to do sth They have a duty to ensure customers receive sound advice.be sb's duty It is your duty to announce any conflict of interest.do your duty I felt that I had done my duty in reporting the incident to the police. It was alleged that the company had failed in its duty to advise customers of the technical aspects of the paint system.
› [C, usually plural] HR something that you have to do because it is part of your job: His duties included photographing engineering projects such as bridges and airfields.perform/undertake/do duties People employed under similar conditions should not be paid less than others performing similar duties. teaching/cleaning/administrative duties
› [U] HR one of the periods of time that a working day is divided into during which someone works: night/day duty Daniels volunteered for night duty so he could take classes at the University of Arizona.
› [C or U] TAX, COMMERCE a tax paid on goods that are bought or imported: duty on sth He said that duty on a bottle of wine in France is equivalent to 2p compared with £1.16 here.impose/raise/increase duty The duty on house purchases of £250,000 or more was increased to 2.5%. a cut/rise/increase in duty fuel/tobacco/petrol duty → See Note tax
off duty › not working, and not responsible for dealing with things that happen at work: He summoned his entire unit to a crisis meeting, even though many were off duty. When your Estate Manager goes off duty, the alarm system will be monitored by a remote service.
on duty › working, and responsible for dealing with things that happen at work: During office hours there is always a planning officer on duty who deals with enquiries. The night shift goes on duty at 10 pm.
→ See also breach of duty, countervailing duty, customs duty, death duty, discriminating duty, duty-free, estate duty, excise duty, export duty, heavy-duty, import duty, light-duty, medium-duty, specific duty, stamp duty(Definition of duty noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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