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
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
Explanation
If you liquidate something, you get rid of it. When a huge retailer has to close all of its stores, it liquidates everything, meaning the inventory and even the shelves and display cases are sold to bargain-hunters, to raise money for the company to pay its debts. Liquidate comes from the Latin liquidare, meaning “to melt,” or “to clarify.” A recipe might ask you to liquefy the butter, not liquidate it, because liquidate has to do with assets. To liquidate is to convert stocks or goods into cash by selling them, to finish business neatly, and to clear debts. If you liquidate your old baseball card collection, you will have money to put in your college fund.
Vocabulary lists containing liquidate
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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.
If the airline moves to liquidate, other airlines will likely look to backfill capacity, as they have in the past.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
Absent the government bailout, Spirit is running out of cash, so now the airline is moving forward with plans to liquidate its aircraft fleet and shut down, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
How you react to it: When it comes time to replenish cash, if the downturn isn’t over, Rivera’s plan is to liquidate some of the investments that are set up in the “intermediate” bucket.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
Funds run by Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas and other banks either had to freeze the ability of investors to take out their money, or liquidate the funds completely.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
“It's from that summer house he had. The one his father gave him that we never went to. He has to liquidate it and I’m getting the money!”
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
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.
