Meaning of responsible In English

• 0 to have control and authority over something or someone and the duty of taking care of it, him, or her:

  • Paul is directly responsible for the efficient running of the office.

  • Her department is responsible for overseeing the councils.

  • In Australia, the prime minister and the Cabinet are responsible to the House of Representatives.

• 1 to be the person who caused something to happen, especially something bad:

  • Who is responsible for this terrible mess?

  • Last month's bad weather was responsible for the crop failure.

  • He held me personally responsible whenever anything went wrong in the project.

  • The defendant was depressed and therefore not fully responsible for her own actions.

• 2 having good judgment and the ability to act correctly and make decisions on your own:

  • a hard-working and responsible employee

  • Let's stay calm and try to behave like responsible adults.

  • Many big companies are now becoming more responsible about the way they operate.

• 3 having the duty of taking care of something:

  • The government’s Energy Regulatory Board is responsible for nuclear safety.

• 4 being the cause of a particular action or situation, esp. a harmful or unpleasant one:

  • We are not responsible for things getting lost in the mail.

• 5 having good judgment and the ability to act correctly and make decisions on your own:

  • We want to be responsible citizens.

• 6 used to describe something, for example, a job, where you are able to act and make decisions on your own:

  • It's a responsible job for which I've been well rewarded.

• 7 to have control and authority over someone or something and the duty to take care of them:

  • He is responsible for the council's waste management department.

  • She was responsible for causing the accident.

• 8 to be controlled by someone or something:

  • Only our elected representatives, responsible to us, can make these big decisions.

• 9 to blame someone or something for something bad that happened:

  • He was held responsible for the accident.

• 10 to be able to be fairly blamed for bad things that you do or mistakes that you make:

  • Although he was ill at the time, he was still responsible for his actions.