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

Jet2Holidays initially denied liability, but later agreed to pay £7,000 compensation to the family.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The home still remains exposed to risks such as fire, storms, water damage, theft and liability claims, the law firm says.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

In 2019, the airline reacquired Aeroplan for C$497 million in cash, along with the assumption of about C$2 billion in liability associated with unused Aeroplan points.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

“Efforts to identify the responsible party were hindered by ownership transitions and liability disputes, which delayed DTSC’s enforcement activities,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

All we needed to do was sign a few simple documents, effectively clearing the festival organizers of any liability.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Air Canada reported second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, following news of the Aeroplan deal, and the airline said it is carrying C$12.79 billion of long-term debt and lease liabilities on its balance sheet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Private credit can be useful to insurers, matching long-duration liabilities against illiquid assets.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

He pretended the money was for "football equipment, council liabilities, Companies House fees, charity registration costs and business penalties".

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

To estimate each candidate’s net worth, the Tribune took the midpoint of their lowest and highest possible worths, based on the assets and liabilities they listed on their disclosure forms.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 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