responsibility
The need to do something because it is your job or role.
The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or take care of someone, often as part of one's role or job.
A thing that you must take care of or manage.
Something that a person is required to look after, manage, or deal with.
Being the person who made something happen, so people think it is your fault or your success.
The state of being the person who caused something to happen and therefore deserving blame or praise.
The ability to act in a way that shows you can be trusted and will do what is right.
The quality of behaving well and making decisions that show you can be trusted to do what is right or expected.
- Base: responsibility
- Plural: responsibilities, responsibility
bear responsibility
1Carry duty or blame
To have to deal with a duty or be blamed for something, especially in a serious way.
- Parents bear great responsibility for their children's safety.
- The board bears ultimate responsibility for company decisions.
claim responsibility
1Say you caused something bad/good
To say that you did something, often something bad like an attack.
- A rebel group claimed responsibility for the bombing.
- No one has claimed responsibility yet.
shift responsibility (onto)
1Pass duty or blame to others
To put your duty or blame on another person instead of yourself.
- He tried to shift responsibility onto his colleague.
- Don't shift your responsibilities onto me.
take responsibility for
1Accept duty or blame
To agree that you must deal with something or that it is your fault.
- He took responsibility for fixing the mistake.
- You need to take responsibility for your own actions.
accept responsibility
1Agree to be accountable for something
To say you will take blame or duty for something you did or must do.
- He accepted responsibility for breaking the window.
- The minister accepted responsibility for the policy failure.
- The company accepted responsibility for the product defect.
- She accepted responsibility without hesitation.