liquidate

verb

liq·​ui·​date ˈli-kwə-ˌdāt 

liquidated; liquidating

transitive verb

1

a(1)

: to determine by agreement or by litigation the precise amount of (indebtedness, damages, or accounts)

(2)

: to determine the liabilities (see liability sense 2) and apportion assets toward discharging the indebtedness of

b

: to settle (a debt) by payment or other settlement

liquidate a loan

2

archaic : to make clear

3

: to do away with especially by killing

was hired to liquidate a certain businessman

4

: to convert (assets) into cash

liquidated his securities

intransitive verb

1

: to liquidate debts, damages, or accounts

2

: to determine liabilities (see liability sense 2) and apportion assets toward discharging indebtedness

liquidation

ˌli-kwə-ˈdā-shən 

noun

Synonyms

• abolish
• annihilate
• black out
• blot out
• cancel
• clean (up)
• efface
• eradicate
• erase
• expunge
• exterminate
• extirpate
• obliterate
• root (out)
• rub out
• snuff (out)
• stamp (out)
• sweep (away)
• wipe out

Examples of liquidate in a Sentence

The owners were ordered to liquidate the company and pay their creditors.

The company is liquidating its assets.

The owners were ordered to liquidate.

The film is about a professional killer who's hired to liquidate a powerful businessman.

Recent Examples on the Web

Eventually, the team's assets were liquidated and sold to Front Row Motorsports for a fraction of their initial value, although this did not immediately curtail operations. —David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025

By Thursday morning, Chen had liquidated enough of the token to donate over $1 million to Hankinson’s lab. —Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024

Robyn Denholm sold $35.3 million worth of shares on Friday, as part of a trading plan adopted in July and intended to liquidate options expiring in 2025. —Nick Wells, CNBC, 20 Nov. 2024

However, parent company Evergrande fell into severe financial difficulty and in January 2024 was ordered to liquidate after amassing over $300billion in debt. —Ali Rampling, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin liquidatus, past participle of liquidare to melt, from Latin liquidus

First Known Use

circa 1575, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a(1)

Kids Definition

liquidate

verb

liq·​ui·​date ˈlik-wə-ˌdāt 

liquidated; liquidating

1

: pay off sense 1

liquidate a debt

2

: to put an end to : do away with

liquidation

ˌlik-wə-ˈdā-shən 

noun

Legal Definition

liquidate

verb

liq·​ui·​date ˈli-kwə-ˌdāt 

liquidated; liquidating

transitive verb

1

: to determine by agreement or litigation the precise amount of

also : to settle (a debt) by payment or other adjustment

2

a

: to determine the liabilities and apportion the assets of especially in bankruptcy or dissolution

liquidate a corporation

compare bankruptcy

b

: to convert (as assets) into cash

liquidate an estate

intransitive verb

: to liquidate something (as a corporation)

liquidation

ˌli-kwə-ˈdā-shən 

noun