civic duty

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   Something a citizen is expected to do for the good of the community or country.

   Grammar: Countable: you can talk about one civic duty or several civic duties.

   Patterns

   • a civic duty to do something
   • it is someone's civic duty to do something
   • carry out a civic duty

   Voting is a civic duty, not just a right.

   Many people see jury service as a civic duty.

   She felt it was her civic duty to report the damage.

2. 2noununcountable

   The general idea that citizens owe certain responsibilities to society.

   Grammar: Uncountable when used as an abstract idea, often with no article.

   Patterns

   • a sense of civic duty
   • out of civic duty

   A sense of civic duty led him to volunteer at the shelter.

   The school tries to teach civic duty through community projects.

Word forms

Common combinations

a sense of civic duty

Her sense of civic duty made her join the neighborhood watch.

fulfill a civic duty

He fulfilled his civic duty by serving on the jury.

civic duty to vote

Some countries treat the civic duty to vote as a legal requirement.

civic duty and responsibility

The course covers both civic duty and personal responsibility.

neglect a civic duty

People who neglect a civic duty like jury duty may be fined.

Synonyms and how they differ

public duty

Broader: it can apply to anyone serving the public, not only citizens.

obligation

More general and less tied to citizenship; it can be moral or legal.

responsibility

Wider in meaning; a civic duty is one specific kind of responsibility.

Opposites

Word family

citizen noun

A person who legally belongs to a country.

civic adjective

Relating to a town, city, or citizens.

civically adverb

In a way that relates to civic matters.

Commonly confused: civic duty or civil duty?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “civic duty”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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