du·ty
(dōṓtē, dyōṓ-)
[Middle English duete, from Anglo-Norman, from due, variant of Old French deu, due; see due.]
noun: pl., -ties.
- An act or a course of action that is required of one by position, social custom, law, or religion: Do your duty to your country.
- Moral obligation: acting out of duty.
- The compulsion felt to meet such obligation.
- A service, function, or task assigned to one, especially in the armed forces: hazardous duty.
- Function or work; service: jury duty. See synonyms at function
- A tax charged by a government, especially on imports.
- The work performed by a machine under specified conditions.
- A measure of efficiency expressed as the amount of work done per unit of energy used.
- The total volume of water required to irrigate a given area in order to cultivate a specific crop until harvest.
idioms
- duty bound
- Obliged: You are duty bound to help your little sister and brother.
- off duty
- Not engaged in or responsible for assigned work.
- on duty
- Engaged in or responsible for assigned work.
