drop responsibility

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "drop responsibility" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the act of relinquishing or not taking on a responsibility or duty. Example: "After much consideration, she decided to drop responsibility for the project and let someone else take over."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

So George Steinbrenner's answer to the Yankees' slump is to drop responsibility for their recent troubles into the laps of Manager Joe Torre and General Manager Brian Cashman.

The New York Times

Friends say he has been eager to leave the UK and drop responsibility for the Wapping newspapers for several months as the phone hacking scandal enveloped the London outpost of the organisation.

The Guardian

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

It is where you go when everyone collectively agrees to drop all responsibility and put in a day shift's worth of nothing but aggressive pleasure-seeking.

Vice

It may be that the communal aspects of religion encourage people to support punishing wrongdoers, Laurin said, but then belief in God might be a way for people to drop the responsibility of punishment when they'd rather not take on the cost.

Huffington Post

Moreover, for applied work, serious epistemological hurdles may ultimately lead us to drop the responsibility-sensitive principle for practical reasoning about the actual world.

SEP

In the wake of so many organizations dropping the responsibility ball, trust is especially important right now for American families.

Huffington Post

Since we can't all drop our responsibilities and jet off to the nearest tropical island at a moment's notice, we've compiled some warm escapes we'd like to make when we're battling the bitter winter blues.

Huffington Post

According to a report by Re/Code, Google is doubling down on virtual reality, with its VP for product management, Clay Bavor, dropping his responsibilities for other apps like Gmail and Drive to focus solely on Cardboard and VR.

TechCrunch

We learned that Google is doubling down on virtual reality, with its VP for product management, Clay Bavor, dropping his responsibilities for other apps like Gmail and Drive to focus solely on Cardboard and VR.

TechCrunch

Corbyn wanted to square the circle by getting rid of collective responsibility – drop the pretence that cabinet members all totally agree on everything like some sort of hive mind and face up to the fact that political differences happen.

Vice

There's also the inexorable decline over time, my rate dropping in response to accumulated responsibilities, children to care for, piled-up magazines competing for my attention.

The New York Times - Books

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "drop responsibility" when you want to convey a deliberate act of relinquishing duties or obligations. Ensure the context clearly indicates who is dropping the responsibility and what the consequences are.

Common error

Avoid using "drop responsibility" when the intention is to temporarily assign tasks to someone else. "Delegating responsibility" implies a structured transfer with oversight, while "drop responsibility" suggests a more permanent or even negligent abandonment.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "drop responsibility" functions as a verb phrase where "drop" acts as a verb taking "responsibility" as its object. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness and usability. It indicates the action of ceasing to bear a duty or obligation.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

60%

Science

20%

Formal & Business

20%

Less common in

Wiki

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "drop responsibility" is a grammatically sound phrase used to describe the act of relinquishing or abandoning a duty. Ludwig AI validates its correctness and usability. While the phrase is common in News & Media contexts, it also appears in Science and Formal & Business domains. The phrase has several synonyms like "relinquish responsibility" or "abdicate responsibility", each with subtle differences in meaning. When using "drop responsibility", ensure the context clarifies who is relinquishing the duty and the implications of that action.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

relinquish responsibility

Implies a formal or deliberate act of giving up responsibility.

abdicate responsibility

Suggests a more formal and complete renunciation of responsibility, similar to a monarch abdicating the throne.

shirk responsibility

Indicates an attempt to avoid responsibility, often through neglect or evasion.

evade responsibility

Similar to shirking, but may involve more deliberate actions to avoid being held accountable.

pass the buck

An informal idiom meaning to shift responsibility to someone else.

hand over responsibility

Implies transferring responsibility to another party.

transfer responsibility

Similar to handing over, but can be a more formal or official action.

delegate responsibility

Entrusting a task or duty to another person, usually within an organization.

abandon responsibility

Suggests a complete and often irresponsible departure from one's duties.

disclaim responsibility

To formally deny having responsibility for something.

FAQs

What does "drop responsibility" mean?

The phrase "drop responsibility" means to relinquish, abandon, or cease to take ownership of a duty, task, or obligation. It implies a release from accountability.

What can I say instead of "drop responsibility"?

You can use alternatives like "relinquish responsibility", "abdicate responsibility", or "shirk responsibility" depending on the context.

Is it appropriate to use "drop responsibility" in formal writing?

While "drop responsibility" is understandable, more formal alternatives like "relinquish responsibility" or "transfer responsibility" may be more suitable for professional or academic contexts.

How is "drop responsibility" different from "delegate responsibility"?

"Drop responsibility" suggests abandoning a duty, whereas "delegate responsibility" implies assigning a task to someone else while maintaining oversight.