How to Use duty in a Sentence

duty

1 of 2 noun
Definition of dutynext
Synonyms for dutynext
  • They helped her out of a sense of duty.
  • We felt it was our duty to help.
  • I'll be ready when duty calls.
  • His primary duty at the event is to take attendance.
  • He has a duty to support his family.
  • If new employees are unable to carry out their duties, they may be fired.
  • Many reserve troops were called into active duty.
  • Her brother returned from duty overseas.
  • The View has not hired any other people to fulfill the writers' duties through the strike.
    — Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 23 June 2023
  • On Monday, April 8, 12 more will take the stage and Jelly Roll will perform the same duties.
    — Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
  • But off duty, Jason is a nice, normal, down-to-earth dude.
    — William Earl, Variety, 11 Jan. 2024
  • While abating a nuisance, receivers act as the arm of the court and their first duty is to carry out the court’s orders.
    — Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023
  • Dozens of officers already were on duty in the area, amid the big crowd from the holiday.
    — Victoria Ballard, Susannah Bryan, David Lyons, Abigail Hasebroock, Juan Ortega South Florida Sun-Sentinel (tns), al, 30 May 2023
  • Until the second or third week of their lives, worker bees take care of the internal duties of the hive.
    — The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2023
  • Trevor Noah will once again serve as the Grammys’ host, his fourth year in a row taking on hosting duties.
    — Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2024
  • Queen Camilla has stepped in to take over some of her husband's duties in recent weeks.
    — Lauren Frayer, NPR, 23 Mar. 2024
  • The men were off duty when the assault occurred, officials said.
    — Deon J. Hampton, NBC News, 22 Sep. 2023
  • Hired, in part, for his offensive acumen, he’s set to take over play-calling duties for the first time in Dallas.
    — David Moore, Dallas News, 5 May 2023
  • Now foreign home buyers will have to pay a 60 percent duty, the highest property-tax rate in the world.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 28 Apr. 2023
  • These officers were struck down while answering the call of duty to serve and protect.
    — Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 18 Feb. 2024
  • And hundreds of Nvidia’s workers have been called up to return to military duty.
    — David Meyer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Muslim people believe this month is when the Prophet Muhammad was given the Quran and the duty to carry God's message.
    — Jordan Green, Detroit Free Press, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Watchdog Should the city attorney be stripped of civil duties?
    — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Oct. 2023
  • As a freshman last season, Daniels got spot duty, mainly as a runner.
    — Steve Kroner, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Apr. 2023
  • The prison tower guard on duty when Mr. Cavalcante escaped was fired.
    — Maryclaire Dale, Marc Levy, and Michael Rubinkam, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep. 2023
  • On the night of October 8th, the watchmen on duty did not spot the flames on DeKoven Street for nearly half an hour, delaying the initial response.
    — Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Agriculture will be on the agenda, too, as will a call to extend a pause on duties on goods in digital form, like music and movies.
    — Jamey Keaten, Quartz, 16 Feb. 2024
  • The shooting happened at around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, while Cram was on patrol duty in Algona.
    — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2023
  • In the aftermath, amid a widening scandal, the third child of Queen Elizabeth II stepped back from his public duties.
    — Olivia McCormack, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
  • Models off duty laughed and walked together in flowing skirts and trousers with comfy tops like a red striped jersey or a tube top.
    — Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 13 Sep. 2023
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duty

2 of 2 adjective
  • Oh, and the off-duty police officer who stopped the robbery?
    — Jared Gilmour, miamiherald, 14 Feb. 2018
  • Police were called to the store to help an off-duty police officer to remove Juarez from the store.
    — Fox News, 26 Apr. 2018
  • The off-duty police officer pulled out her own gun and fired at the robber three times, hitting him in the chest and leg.
    — Amanda Erickson, Washington Post, 14 May 2018
  • Connelly was able to flag down an off-duty police officer from the side of the road.
    — Sarah Ladd, The Courier-Journal, 1 July 2019
  • The teens tried to rescue him, and at one point an off-duty police officer also dove in to help search for him.
    — Adam Sennott, BostonGlobe.com, 3 June 2018
  • The off-duty school officer is married to one of the female victims, police said.
    — Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2018
  • Her father was an off-duty metro officer who had come to assist the injured.
    — Megan Cassidy, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2017
  • The man in the kayak, Chad Hammel, and two of his friends, one an off-duty lifeguard and the other an off-duty police officer, helped get Keane to shore.
    — Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 July 2019
  • Instead, the FBI agent wrote, the off-duty police officer simply sat with Uskanli for the duration of the flight.
    — Avi Selk, Washington Post, 23 May 2017
  • Off-duty police officer Katia Sastre pulled out her own gun and put the man down.
    — Fox News, 15 May 2018
  • All three were shot on June 14 by an off-duty police officer in a Costco in Corona.
    — Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2019
  • In the city’s Yuen Long area, a Hong Kong off-duty police officer surrounded by demonstrators shot a 14-year-old in the leg.
    — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, 5 Oct. 2019
  • The driver was captured by an off-duty police officer soon after his car crashed into a post next to a tram stop in the center of the street.
    — Rob Taylor, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2017
  • Among the injured was a preschool-age child and an off-duty police officer who arrested the driver.
    — Tacey Rychter and Gerry Mullany, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2017
  • One of the dead includes an off-duty police officer who was attending the concert.
    — Karen Kucher, sandiegouniontribune.com, 2 Oct. 2017
  • The manager told police an off-duty police officer by the name Andrew Mueller showed his firearm and badge to a female patron of the bar, the report states.
    — Jennifer Edwards Baker, Cincinnati.com, 23 Feb. 2020
  • McLemore was in the company of a female off-duty police officer during the offense.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 10 Nov. 2019
  • Kirkpatrick’s body was found in her Hurdle Mills front yard by an off-duty police officer.
    — Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, 20 Sep. 2019
  • The men in the car behind us were off-duty emergency medical technicians.
    — Mindy Van Wingen, Cosmopolitan, 2 June 2015
  • He was dragged to safety by off-duty police officer Tom McGrath, who had to put his own fingers in Smith's bullet wound to stanch the bleeding.
    — Euan McKirdy and Erin Burnett, CNN, 5 Oct. 2017
  • The shooting came two days after an off-duty police officer in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was shot and killed.
    — Fox News, 31 Mar. 2018
  • Ziemba faces charges of trespassing and assault of the off-duty police officer.
    — Khou.com Staff, USA TODAY, 31 Dec. 2017
  • Should the city of Chicago have to pay $44 million for a shooting involving an off-duty police officer?
    — Chicago Tribune Staff, chicagotribune.com, 12 Dec. 2019
  • In Missouri, a black off-duty police officer tried to assist after a police car chase ended in a shootout near his home.
    — Lucy McBath, Cosmopolitan, 23 June 2017
  • Thankfully an off-duty police officer was nearby and helped waive down a pick-up truck to transport him to the hospital.
    — Essence.com, 3 Oct. 2017
  • The woman went to a first aid station for treatment and contacted an off-duty police officer.
    — Usa Today Sports, USA TODAY, 3 May 2017
  • The man, whose name has not been released, was chased by passers-by, including an off-duty police officer, and arrested near the station.
    — Washington Post, 30 July 2019
  • Officers were told the people involved in the fight had been separated, and one of them was an off-duty police officer, the release said.
    — Mike Cruz, azcentral, 15 June 2019
  • The woman happened to be an off-duty police officer in some type of medical distress.
    — Marlisse Cepeda, Woman's Day, 23 Feb. 2016
  • Chauvin worked as an off-duty police officer for the club for nearly 17 years, Santamaria said.
    — Scottie Andrew, CNN, 1 June 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'duty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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