duty

noun

1. 1

   That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.

   Do your duty by me! -No, we don't have a duty to keep you abreast.

   1805, 21 October, Horatio Nelson England expects that every man will do his duty.

   Captain Edward Carlisle[…]felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,[…]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.

   Your Excellency, I trust you will not find it necessary to use that word again. Were I not completely aware of my duty to my family and to my country, I would not have come back tonight…or indeed ever again!

2. 2

   The state of being at work and responsible for or doing a particular task.

   I’m on duty from 6 pm to 6 am.

3. 3

   An excise tax; especially, one on imports or exports.

   customs duty

4. 4

   obsoleteOne's due, something one is owed; a debt or fee.

   Take that which is thy duty, and goo thy waye.

5. 5

   obsoleteRespect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.

   my duty to you

   It [the letter] was written with a plain, unaffected, homely piety that I knew to be genuine, and ended with ‘my duty to my ever darling’—meaning myself.

6. 6

   The efficiency of an engine in work done per unit of fuel; particularly, the number of pounds of water which a steam pumping engine can raise one foot by burning one bushel or hundredweight of coal.

7. 7

   The act of urination or defecation, especially for a dog.

   The basic idea in housebreaking is not to wait until the puppy sins and then punish him; it is to call nature to your aid and thus make it easy for him to do his duty.

Forms

plural

duties