responsibility: Meaning and Definition of

re•spon•si•bil•i•ty

1. the state or fact of being responsible.
2. an instance of being responsible: The responsibility for this mess is yours!
3. a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible: the responsibilities of authority.
4. a person or thing for which one is responsible: A child is a responsibility to its parents.
5. reliability or dependability, esp. in meeting debts or payments.
6. on one's own initiative or authority: He changed the order on his own responsibility.