take responsibility — accept duty or blame
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to agree that you are in charge of something or admit that something is your fault.
Say it like a native
Textbook I shall assume accountability for the error.
Native I'll take responsibility for the mistake.
'Take responsibility' is the natural collocation; 'assume accountability' is corporate jargon.
Pattern: take responsibility (for [something])
In use
- She decided to take responsibility for organizing the event.daily life
- In my opinion, parents should take responsibility for teaching their children good manners.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He took the responsibility of the failure.
✓ He took responsibility for the failure.
'Take responsibility FOR' something; usually no 'the' before 'responsibility' here.
Common collocations
take responsibility for— for the mistake, for your actions, for the team, for it
Don't confuse it
Compare with 'be responsible for,' which describes an ongoing role, while 'take responsibility' is about accepting it at a specific moment.