liquidate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to settle or pay (a debt).
to liquidate a claim.
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to reduce (accounts) to order; determine the amount of (indebtedness or damages).
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to convert (inventory, securities, or other assets) into cash.
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to get rid of, especially by killing.
to liquidate the enemies of the regime.
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to break up or do away with.
to liquidate a partnership.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to settle or pay off (a debt, claim, etc)
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to determine by litigation or agreement the amount of (damages, indebtedness, etc)
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to terminate the operations of (a commercial firm, bankrupt estate, etc) by assessment of liabilities and appropriation of assets for their settlement
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(of a commercial firm, etc) to terminate operations in this manner
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(tr) to convert (assets) into cash
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(tr) to eliminate or kill
Other Word Forms
- nonliquidating adjective
- preliquidate verb (used with object)
- reliquidate verb
- unliquidated adjective
- unliquidating adjective
Etymology
Origin of liquidate
1565–75; 1920–25 liquidate for def. 4; < Late Latin liquidātus, past participle of liquidāre to melt, make clear. See liquid, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Both, he said, had been expected to be liquidated in months.
The club is the successor of Macclesfield Town, who were liquidated and expelled from the National League in 2020 because of huge debts.
From BBC
A Cambodian bank founded by accused scam boss Chen Zhi, who has been indicted by the United States over a multibillion-dollar fraud and extradited to China, was ordered liquidated Thursday, Cambodia's central bank said.
From Barron's
Edge rusher Damon Wilson II responded to Georgia suing him for a ‘liquidated damage fee’ of $390,000 after he transferred to Missouri by filing a countersuit.
From Los Angeles Times
Adding liquidated damage fee clauses to NIL contracts became all the rage in 2025, a year that will be remembered as the first time players have been paid directly by schools.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
