limited liability

noun

a liability restricted by law or contract, as the liability of owners of shares in a corporation or limited company, or that of a special partner.

Origin of limited liability

First recorded in 1850–55

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for limited liability

Contemporary Examples of limited liability

Eason recounted what he knew: that a limited-liability company was set up to buy a house where Jobs could recuperate.
Memphis Doctor Who Performed Steve Jobs’ Liver Transplant Bought His House
Andy Meek
June 26, 2012

Historical Examples of limited liability

We've no limited-liability company act to fear, no treasury investigations.
A Lost Cause
Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull

British Dictionary definitions for limited liability

limited liability

noun

British liability restricted to the unpaid portion (if any) of the par value of the shares of a limited company. It is a feature of share ownership

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

limited liability in Culture

limited liability

A fundamental feature of corporations, whereby investors are liable only up to the amount of their investment.

Note

This principle is important for failing corporations because it holds that only the assets of the corporation, not the personal assets of its owners, can be liquidated (see liquidation) to cover the corporation's debts.