take responsibility

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take responsibility (third-person singular simple present takes responsibility, present participle taking responsibility, simple past took responsibility, past participle taken responsibility)

1. To blame oneself for something; to acknowledge a fault.

   I take responsibility for my poor choice; it was my fault.

2. To accept blame, punishment, or accountability for something within one's role or chain of command, especially when a leader protects the subordinates who caused the problem.

   "I take full responsibility for my own actions and for those of my Administration. As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities." — Ronald Reagan (1987)

3. To accept or take on an obligation or liability.

   The new captain will take responsibility for the ship at the beginning of January.