accept responsibility — take blame
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to admit that something is your fault or that you are in charge of dealing with a problem or mistake.
Say it like a native
Textbook I assume full liability for the error that occurred.
Native I take responsibility for the mistake.
'Take responsibility' is the everyday phrase; 'assume full liability' is legal/formal.
Pattern: accept responsibility (for something)
In use
- The manager accepted responsibility for the mistake and apologized to the team.daily life
- In my opinion, leaders should accept responsibility when things go wrong, as it builds trust with their team.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He accepted the responsibility of the failure.
✓ He accepted responsibility for the failure.
'Accept/take responsibility FOR' something, not 'of'.
Common collocations
accept/take responsibility for— for, full, personal, take
Don't confuse it
Compare with 'take responsibility', which can mean to agree to be in charge, not always to admit fault.