responsibility

Definition

That magical quality where you're magically accountable for everything, especially when something goes wrong and you can't immediately blame your tools, your team, or the Mercury retrograde. It's the burden of ownership dressed up in corporate responsibility speak.

Example Usage

After the campaign tanked, the marketing director suddenly discovered she had 'full responsibility' for the results despite having zero budget.

Source: Merriam-Webster via Free Dictionary API

Related Terms

Intermediate

proof of concept

A small-scale test to demonstrate feasibility before committing full resources, or as commonly practiced, a demo that barely works but generates enough executive enthusiasm to fund a doomed full-scale project.

💼 Corporate / Business

Intermediate

dave

To strategically skip your workplace team lunch (usually citing dietary restrictions, prior plans, or professional laziness) but enthusiastically rejoin the group for post-lunch drinks. A tactic that extracts maximum fun while minimizing commitment.

💼 Corporate / Business

Intermediate

Core Competency

The one thing your company claims to be really good at, which is usually just the thing you've been doing the longest. Like a restaurant saying their core competency is food -- technically true but not exactly inspiring.

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

time suck

An activity, task, or obligation that devours hours of your life while providing minimal value in return. The corporate meeting that should've been an email, but stretched into a three-hour philosophical debate about font choices.

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

actionable

Information specific enough to actually act upon, as opposed to the vague insights and useless data that comprise most business reports.

💼 Corporate / Business

Intermediate

Swim lane

An area of responsibility clearly defined to avoid overlap, like lanes in a pool. In practice, it's where you drown alone because no one else will help—that's not their swim lane.

💼 Corporate / Business

Translate This Term

See “responsibility” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Intermediate

sexiled

When your college roommate's romantic partner visits and they kick you out so they can have alone time—essentially ban...