duty Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty"- John D.Rockefeller Jr
obligation; responsibility.
- we must instill a sense of duty in our children
- every right implies a responsibility
noun work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons
- the duties of the job
noun a government tax on imports or exports
tariff.
- they signed a treaty to lower duties on trade between their countries

From Due.

plural Duties

That which is due; payment. Obs. as signifying a material thing.
When thou receivest money for thy labor or ware, thou receivest thy duty. Tyndale.
That which a person is bound by moral obligation to do, or refrain from doing; that which one ought to do; service morally obligatory.
Forgetting his duty toward God, his sovereign lord, and his country. Hallam.
Hence, any assigned service or business; as, the duties of a policeman, or a soldier; to be on duty.
With records sweet of duties done. Keble.

To employ him on the hardest and most imperative duty. Hallam.

Duty is a graver term than obligation. A duty hardly exists to do trivial things; but there may be an obligation to do them. C. J. Smith.
Specifically, obedience or submission due to parents and superiors. Shak.
Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage. "My duty to you." Shak.
(Engin.) The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).
(Com.) Tax, toll, impost, or customs; excise; any sum of money required by government to be paid on the importation, exportation, or consumption of goods. ✍ An impost on land or other real estate, and on the stock of farmers, is not called a duty, but a direct tax. U.S.