devolve (up)on (someone or something)

(redirected from devolve upon)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal.

devolve (up)on (someone or something)

To become someone else's responsibility, as of a task or job. If Joe is out sick on Monday, I know that sorting the mail will devolve on me.
See also: devolve
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

devolve (up)on someone or something

[for something, such as a task] to be passed on to someone or a group. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) This job, I am afraid, devolves upon you and you alone. The task of repairing the damage devolved on Diane.
See also: devolve, on
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
See also:
References in periodicals archive ?
(e.g., plant protection measures adopted by the relevant state authorities to prevent or combat epizooties), devolve upon the owner ("res perit domino").
New regulations concerning the contractual risk in internal legal circuit
Considering that much of what Mr Sibal wants changed will devolve upon the states to implement, the importance of this cannot be overstated.
MAIL TODAY COMMENT
Dominance certainly is one of the most critical factors in whitetail relationships, and it usually does devolve upon a large mature male.
The Class Bully
Primary responsibility in families consisting of mother and child, in fact, did devolve upon the female adult.
Guardianship over women in medieval Flanders: a reappraisal
In this essay he writes, "Positively, I hear us asserting that the special imperatives that devolve upon Jews because of the covenant necessitate our special devotion to the heterosexual, that is, the procreative family" (279).
Covenant or contract? Marriage as theology
2) or that "these writings do not devolve upon the comprehensive and systematic; they always delay such aims" (p.
A Peculiar Fate: Metaphysics and World-History in Kant
Article 6 of the 1874 state constitution: "In case of death, conviction or impeachment, failure to qualify, resignation, absence from the state or other disability of the governor, the powers, duties and emoluments of the office for the remainder of the term, or until the disability be removed or a governor elected and qualified, shall devolve upon and accrue to the president of the senate."
A question of succession
Idioms browser ?
Full browser ?