liability

American  

[lahy-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌlaɪ əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

• liabilities
  plural

1. liabilities,

   1. Finance. moneys owed; debts or pecuniary obligations (opposed to assets).

   2. Accounting. liabilities as detailed on a balance sheet, especially in relation to assets and capital.

2. something disadvantageous.

   His lack of education is his biggest liability.

3. Also liableness the state or quality of being liable.

   liability to disease.

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liability British  

/ ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state of being liable

2. a financial obligation

3. a hindrance or disadvantage

4. likelihood or probability

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liability Cultural  

1. An obligation or debt.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonliability
  noun
• preliability
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• liabilities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of liability

First recorded in 1785–95; li(able) + -ability

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Explanation

A liability is a debt or obligation or a personal flaw that stands in your way. A company's liabilities are simply the debts on its ledger, but a personal liability might be your extreme shyness in social situations. Depending on how you use it, the word liability has very different meanings. In a business or financial sense, a liability is a debt or fiscal obligation, like a mortgage or a loan. A limited liability company means if the company fails, the partners are on the hook for only what they initially invested in the company. A personal liability, however, is some element of your past, your character, or your behavior that might give you a disadvantage.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

liability liabilities

But they face mounting pressure to balance the state budget, usher in more government efficiency, build homes and solve affordability, figure out wildfire liability and regulate AI.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Yet to shore up utilities’ risk profile and prevent upward pressure on utility rates, he said, the state will probably have to grant some liability caps.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Has Martinez become a liability for Man Utd?

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

As Tara Weiss writes in her piece this week, there are some legal risks to this approach, but some parents feel that the safety benefits outweigh the potential liability.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

Separately, there was civil liability, with Phill worrying “they could take everything,” if the Furfaros and O’Dells successfully sued the Shaws.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

“She’s gonna have to broaden her focus to issues related to public safety, homelessness. Obviously, we both agree that city liabilities need aggressive proactive risk management,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

If the utilities commission agrees that the company acted prudently, Edison’s liabilities for the fire would be fully covered by a $21-billion state wildfire fund.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

One of the most important elements from Friday’s release was the intention to settle the remaining liabilities from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in full, which is equivalent to around $5 billion post-tax, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Anthropic’s red ink arose mainly from marking up the value of liabilities on its balance sheet, a process that produces losses on the income statement much like marking down an asset’s value does.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Like a lot of girls, I became aware of the liabilities of my body early, long before I began to even look like a woman.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

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