liquidate

liq·ui·date

Use liquidate in a sentence

verb

The definition of liquidate is to turn assets into cash, or to sell assets and pay creditors.

When you sell your shares of stock and turn them into cash, this is an example of when you liquidate.
When a furniture store sells off its inventory and goes out of business, this is an example of when it liquidates.

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"liquidate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate>.

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liquidate. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate

liquidate

transitive verb

-·dat·ed, -·dat·ing

to settle by agreement or legal process the amount of (indebtedness, damages, etc.)
to settle the accounts of (a bankrupt business firm) by apportioning assets and debts
to pay or settle (a debt)
to convert (holdings or assets) into cash
to dispose of or get rid of, as by killing

Origin of liquidate

from Medieval Latin liquidatus, past participle of liquidare, to make liquid or clear from Classical Latin liquidus, liquid

to liquidate debts, accounts, etc.

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MLA Style

"liquidate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate>.

APA Style

liquidate. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate

liquidate

verb

liq·ui·dat·ed, liq·ui·dat·ing, liq·ui·dates

verb

transitive

a. To pay off (a debt, claim, or obligation); settle.
b. To settle the affairs of (a business firm, for example) by determining the liabilities and applying the assets to their discharge.
To convert (assets) into cash.
To eliminate, especially by killing.

verb

intransitive

To settle a debt, claim, or obligation.
To settle the affairs of a business or estate by disposing of its assets and liabilities.

Origin of liquidate

Late Latin liquidāre liquidāt- to melt from Latin liquidus liquid ; see liquid .

Related Forms:

liq′ui·da′tion
noun

liq′ui·da′tor
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"liquidate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate>.

APA Style

liquidate. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate

Verb

(third-person singular simple present liquidates, present participle liquidating, simple past and past participle liquidated)

To settle (a debt) by paying the outstanding amount.
To settle the affairs of (a company), by using its assets to pay its debts.
To convert (assets) into cash.
To do away with.
To kill.
(law) To determine by agreement or by litigation the precise amount of (indebtedness); to make the amount of (a debt) clear and certain.

Related terms

Origin

From Latin liquidus (“liquid, clear"). The sense "to kill" comes from Russian likviditet.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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MLA Style

"liquidate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate>.

APA Style

liquidate. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate

liquidate - Investment & Finance Definition

To sell all of a business’s assets and close down the business. An involuntary liquidation is called a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
To close a brokerage account and sell its stocks and investments.
To close open futures and options positions. If futures are owned, an equivalent amount is sold to liquidate a position. If futures have been sold short, then the equivalent position is bought to liquidate a position.

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MLA Style

"liquidate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate>.

APA Style

liquidate. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Liquidate

liquidate - Legal Definition

v

In bankruptcy or insolvency, to terminate a business by the sale of its assets to pay its liabilities.
To pay a debt.
To convert hard assets into cash.
To set, by contract or stipulation, a fixed amount for damages resulting from a particular harm.