duty

«duty» in Mova's school dictionary: right, because it is your job or because the rules or the… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a duty, duties; uncountable "duty" for the idea)

meaning for a pupil

1) Something you must do because it is right, because it is your job or because the rules or the law say so. tree →

2) Work that is part of a job, as in a teacher on playground duty. tree →

3) A tax paid on some goods, especially things brought in from another country. tree →

4) "On duty" means working right now; "off duty" means not working. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life and at school, children have duties such as feeding the pet, tidying up or being class monitor; a teacher may be on playground duty. In citizenship lessons, people have duties as well as rights, like obeying the law. Police officers, nurses and firefighters work on duty in shifts. In stories, a knight does his duty. Phrases: "on duty", "off duty", "do your duty", "it is my duty to…", "heavy-duty" (very strong), "duty-free" (no tax).

examples

• Mrs Patel is on playground duty today. tree →
• It is my duty to feed the goldfish. tree →
• The nurse came off duty at seven o'clock. tree →
• Firefighters do their duty bravely. tree →
• My duties as class monitor include handing out books. tree →
• We have a duty to look after the planet. tree →
• This bag is heavy-duty, so it won't tear. tree →
• Dad bought chocolate at the duty-free shop at the airport. tree →
• Youth’s first duty is reverence to parents. tree →

note

Plural: duties (y → ies). "On duty" (working) is the opposite of "off duty". "Duty" and "job" overlap; "duty" stresses what you ought to do. Do not confuse with "dusty" (covered in dust). A duty roster or rota is a list of who does which job when; in maths problems a rota might repeat every few days.

In the corpora

• In November 2019 Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties after a BBC interview about his friendship with a man convicted of serious crimes.
• A dog in a working harness is on duty, so you do not stroke it.
• Want any washing done to-day?» «We don't do any washing on duty,» they said.
• "Relieved of his duties" means fired, in official language.
• If children say you cannot play, ask an adult on duty or find another group.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «duty» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.