do one's duty



do one's duty

1. Do one's tasks or what is expected of one. For example, He was only doing his duty when he made the children finish their work. [Early 1500s]
2. Defecate or urinate, as in Please keep the dog outdoors until he does his duty. This euphemism for attending to such needs is heard less often today. [1930s]
See also: duty

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Aline[æ'li:n]
Sagi-Hebrew
KinsleyKINZ-leeEnglish (Modern)
Bojana-Slovene, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian
Hahn[ha:n]
WintonWIN-tənEnglish