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liability

[lahy-uh-bil-i-tee]
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noun, plural li·a·bil·i·ties.

liabilities,
  1. 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.
something disadvantageous: His lack of education is his biggest liability.
Also li·a·ble·ness. the state or quality of being liable: liability to disease.

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RELATED WORDS

duty, culpability, accountability, burden, obligation, debt, mortgage, loan, inconvenience, damage, responsibility, involvement, exposure, susceptibility, onus, amenability, indebtedness, blame, compulsion, subjection

Nearby words

  1. li yüan,
  2. li-fraumeni cancer syndrome,
  3. li-sao,
  4. lia,
  5. liabilities,
  6. liability engineering,
  7. liability insurance,
  8. liability limit,
  9. liable,
  10. liaise

Origin of liability

First recorded in 1785–95; li(able) + -ability
Related formsnon·li·a·bil·i·ty, noun, plural non·li·a·bil·i·ties.pre·li·a·bil·i·ty, noun, plural pre·li·a·bil·i·ties.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for liability

British Dictionary definitions for liability

liability

noun plural -ties

the state of being liable
a financial obligation
a hindrance or disadvantage
likelihood or probability
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for liability

liability

n.

1790, originally a term in law; "condition of being legally liable;" see liable + -ity. General sense is from 1809; meaning "thing for which one is liable" is first attested 1842. Related: Liabilities.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for liability

liability

An obligation or debt.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.