illiquid

[ih-lik-wid]

adjective

1. not readily convertible into cash; not liquid.

illiquid

/ ɪˈlɪkwɪd /

adjective

1. (of an asset) not easily convertible into cash

2. (of an enterprise, organization, etc) deficient in liquid assets

Other Word Forms

• illiquidity noun
• illiquidly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of illiquid¹

First recorded in 1685–95; il- ² + liquid

Example Sentences

I’m referring to the relatively obscure and illiquid stocks that now and then will capture the attention of certain traders and social-media users, skyrocket and then, more often than not, quickly fall back to Earth.

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“A home is an illiquid asset,” said Rob Williams, a managing director at Schwab Center for Financial Research.

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Then on the institutional side, university endowments have over half of their assets in extremely high-fee, concentrated, illiquid alternative assets.

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These illiquid assets aren’t reflecting the true volatility of their value over time.

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Like private equity, investments are illiquid and the competition to find worthy borrowers is stiff.

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