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

Etymology

Origin of liability

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

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

“No, I don’t think so,” Mr. Russell replied, comparing Boulder’s claims to a product liability lawsuit against an auto maker for a defective car.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Researcher Harshvardhan Pandit echoed lawmaker concerns about liability in the bloc.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

The law, which went into effect immediately, also authorizes the state tax agency to impose tax liability on individual members of a business.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

A Reform UK spokesman said at the time that it had "removed the posts in good faith and without any admission of liability on our part".

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

I don’t get it; how can a talent like that be a liability to our society?

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

In the Chapter 11 filing, Leslie’s reported total assets of $722.2 million and total liabilities and debt of about $1.2 billion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Honeywell last year transferred its legacy Bendix business unit and certain other asbestos liabilities to Delticus, a financial institution that specializes in acquiring legacy corporate liabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The company is considering moving tort liabilities into a separate corporate entity to unload them through a sale to an outside investor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The independent commission which studied the case found City "utilised devices" to "disguise the true extent of certain club liabilities".

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Indeed, Dobzhansky recognized that natural variation was a vital reservoir for an organism—an asset that far outweighed its liabilities.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• damage
• inconvenience
• involvement
• loan
• mortgage
• obligation
• responsibility