responsibility

[ ri-spon-suh-bil-i-tee ]
See synonyms for responsibility on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.
  1. the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management.

  2. an instance of being responsible: The responsibility for this mess is yours!

  1. a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible: the responsibilities of authority.

  2. a person or thing for which one is responsible: A child is a responsibility to their parents.

  3. reliability or dependability, especially in meeting debts or payments.

Idioms about responsibility

  1. on one's own responsibility, on one's own initiative or authority: He changed the order on his own responsibility.

Origin of responsibility

1
First recorded in 1780–90; respons(ible) + -ibility

Other words for responsibility

Other words from responsibility

  • non·re·spon·si·bil·i·ty, noun, plural non·re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.
  • pre·re·spon·si·bil·i·ty, noun, plural pre·re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.
  • self-re·spon·si·bil·i·ty, noun
  • su·per·re·spon·si·bil·i·ty, noun, plural su·per·re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for responsibility

responsibility

/ (rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlɪtɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. the state or position of being responsible

  2. a person or thing for which one is responsible

  1. the ability or authority to act or decide on one's own, without supervision

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012