Take Up Responsibility vs. Take On Responsibility – Which is Correct?

Both “take up responsibility” and “take on responsibility” are grammatically correct, but “take on responsibility” is more common when someone accepts a duty, role, or burden. “Take up responsibility” emphasizes beginning to perform responsibility or adopting it as cause. Choose “take on” for acceptance; choose “take up” for engagement.

Take Up Responsibility or Take On Responsibility – Which Is Correct?

Both expressions are correct in American English, but they emphasize different aspects of responsibility. Take on responsibility usually means to accept, assume, or agree to carry a duty, task, role, or burden. Take up responsibility usually means to begin actively performing a responsibility or to adopt a duty, cause, or obligation as something worth pursuing.

This distinction also benefits from comparing Obligation vs. Responsibility, since the terms overlap but are not identical.

In everyday professional and personal situations, take on responsibility is generally the more natural and common choice. For example, an employee may take on responsibility for a project. Take up responsibility is less common in this exact construction and can sound more formal, literary, or influenced by expressions such as “take up a cause” and “take up the responsibilities of office.”

The Best Trick to Remember the Difference

Use the “on means onto your shoulders” trick. When you take on responsibility, you accept it and carry it. Use take up responsibility when the emphasis is on starting to practice, pursue, or devote yourself to a responsibility.

How to Use Take Up Responsibility

Take up responsibility is grammatically correct, but it is less common than take on responsibility in ordinary conversation and workplace writing. It highlights the point at which someone begins to fulfill a duty or commits to a responsibility. It can also suggest a deliberate decision to embrace a moral, civic, or leadership obligation.

This expression often appears in formal, historical, political, or literary contexts. In modern general English, speakers may prefer “assume responsibility,” “accept responsibility,” or “take on responsibility.”

Example 1: After the director retired, Maya took up responsibility for managing the department.

Example 2: The volunteers took up responsibility for protecting the local river.

Example 3: The newly elected leader took up the responsibilities of office with determination.

Etymology of the Phrase Take Up Responsibility

Take comes from Old Norse taka, meaning “to grasp” or “to receive.” Up developed from an Old English word associated with an elevated position or movement upward. Together, “take up” came to mean accepting, beginning, occupying, or engaging in something. The phrase later extended naturally to duties and responsibilities.

How to Use Take On Responsibility

Take on responsibility is the more common expression when you mean accepting or assuming a duty, role, task, or burden. It works well in casual, professional, academic, and formal writing. The object may be general responsibility or a specific responsibility introduced with for.

Use “take on responsibility” when the key idea is acceptance. For example, a manager may take on responsibility for a team, a parent may take on responsibility for a child, or an employee may take on additional responsibility at work.

Example 1: Jordan took on responsibility for coordinating the company’s annual conference.

Example 2: As the oldest sibling, she took on more responsibility at home.

Example 3: The committee is willing to take on responsibility for reviewing the new policy.

Etymology of the Phrase Take On Responsibility

Take on combines the verb “take” with on, a word associated with contact, attachment, or movement onto something. The phrase developed meanings including accepting, assuming, employing, and confronting. In “take on responsibility,” the image is of accepting a duty and carrying it as part of one’s role.

Related Concepts

Understanding phrasal verbs and verb-preposition combinations makes the difference between these expressions easier to recognize.

• Phrasal verbs: A phrasal verb combines a verb with a particle such as up or on. The added word can significantly change the meaning of the main verb.
• Collocation: A collocation is a combination of words that commonly appears together. “Take on responsibility” is a more frequent collocation than “take up responsibility” in contemporary professional English.
• Assume responsibility: This formal expression means to accept responsibility, often in official, legal, or professional contexts.
• Responsibility for: The preposition for normally introduces the duty, person, task, or area involved: “She took on responsibility for the budget.”

Examples from Media and Literature

The following examples show how the two expressions can work in recognizable real-world contexts. They are paraphrased examples rather than quotations.

• Leadership biographies: A biography may describe a young leader who “took on responsibility” after a predecessor stepped down, emphasizing the acceptance of a demanding role.
• Historical fiction: A novel may say that a character “took up responsibility for the village,” emphasizing the character’s decision to begin serving and protecting the community.
• Workplace news: A business report may explain that an executive “took on responsibility for the company’s international operations” after a promotion.
• Adventure films: A protagonist may take up responsibility for rescuing a group, highlighting the beginning of a mission or cause.
• Social-issue journalism: An article may describe residents taking up responsibility for restoring a damaged neighborhood, emphasizing active civic engagement.

Practice Exercises

Choose the correct phrase to complete each sentence: take up responsibility or take on responsibility.

1. After her promotion, Elena decided to ______ for supervising the entire department.
2. The activists ______ for protecting the wetlands and organizing regular cleanups.
3. He was not prepared to ______ for the project without additional support.
4. The new mayor ______ for rebuilding the town after the storm.
5. When the program began, volunteers ______ for mentoring local students.

Answer Key

1. take on responsibility — The sentence emphasizes accepting a new professional duty.
2. take up responsibility — The sentence emphasizes actively pursuing a civic cause.
3. take on responsibility — The sentence refers to accepting or assuming a project-related burden.
4. took on responsibility — The mayor accepted responsibility for a major recovery effort.
5. took up responsibility — The volunteers began actively performing a mentoring duty.

Take Up Responsibility Synonyms

Take On Responsibility Synonyms

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: Is “take up responsibility” grammatically correct?
Yes. “Take up responsibility” is correct, although it is less common than “take on responsibility” in everyday American English. It often emphasizes beginning to perform or embracing a responsibility.

Question 2: Is “take on responsibility” more common?
Yes. “Take on responsibility” is usually the better choice when you mean accepting or assuming a duty, role, task, or burden.

Question 3: Should I say “take responsibility for” or “take on responsibility for”?
Both are correct, but they have slightly different emphasis. “Take responsibility for” often means accepting accountability, while “take on responsibility for” emphasizes accepting an ongoing duty or area of work.

Conclusion

Both take up responsibility and take on responsibility are correct. Use take on responsibility when someone accepts or assumes a duty, role, or burden. Use take up responsibility when the focus is on beginning to perform a duty or adopting a cause. Pro Tip: In professional writing, choosing the more natural “take on responsibility” can make your communication sound clearer and more polished.