line of duty

noun phrase

: all that is authorized, required, or normally associated with some field of responsibility

Examples of line of duty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Hundreds of people are expected to line the streets of Dearborn for a solemn procession for Melvindale police officer Mohamed Said, fallen in the line of duty. Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press, 24 July 2024 If a soldier is in the hospital for over 24 hours, the command is supposed to initiate a line of duty investigation. Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 23 July 2024 Authorities in and around Houston are on the hunt for Ronnie Palmer, 44, in connection with the line of duty death of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Fernando Esqueda. Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 11 July 2024 Dozens of officers shot in line of duty Nearly 100 officers were shot, including 10 who were killed, in the first three months of 2024, according to a March update from The National Fraternal Order of Police. Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 1 May 2024 Nonprofit group Officer Down Memorial Page has counted 38 line of duty deaths for police officers in the U.S. so far this year. Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2024 Our law enforcement line of duty families have suffered enough. Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 2 Apr. 2024 This also entails differentiating protocol from what is unnecessarily inhibiting employees from being creative or going beyond the line of duty in ways that are beneficial to the organization. Federico Sendra, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Monday is Peace Officers Memorial Day, on which the nation remembers officers who fell in the line of duty. Ryan King, Washington Examiner, 15 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of line of duty was circa 1918

Dictionary Entries Near line of duty

Cite this Entry

“Line of duty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/line%20of%20duty. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!