Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
Ontario, Lake
ontic
onto
onto-
ontogeny
ontological
ontological argument
ontology
onus
onward
onychogryphosis
onycholysis
onychomycosis
onychopathy
onychophoran
onychorrhexis
onychosis
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "onuses" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

onus

o·nus [ ṓnəss ] (plural o·nus·es)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. burden: a duty or responsibility
The onus is on her to make the first move.

2. blame: the blame for something
He'll always bear the onus of having caused the accident.

3. law burden of proof or proceeding: the burden of proof or responsibility for acting in a legal proceeding

[Mid-17th century. < Latin, "burden, load"]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft