Word
liquidate
Phoneticsliq·ui·date, stress on the first syllable
US/ˈɫɪkwɪˌdeɪt/
UK/lˈɪkwɪdˌeɪt/
Definition
v. to sell all of your property or assets to get money. You usually do this when a company is closing down or when you need cash quickly.
v. to convert assets into cash, typically through the sale of property or securities. Often used in the context of corporate bankruptcy or the dissolution of a partnership.
Examples
“The company had to liquidate its assets to pay its debts.”
“After the merger failed, the board decided to liquidate the remaining inventory to settle outstanding liabilities.”
“The sudden drop in market value forced the hedge fund to liquidate its entire portfolio of high-yield bonds to meet the margin calls from its lenders.”
Examples
simple
“The company had to liquidate its assets to pay its debts.”
contextual
“After the merger failed, the board decided to liquidate the remaining inventory to settle outstanding liabilities.”
complex
“The sudden drop in market value forced the hedge fund to liquidate its entire portfolio of high-yield bonds to meet the margin calls from its lenders.”
Real-World Examples
“The news is the latest event to raise questions about the practice of “ phoenixism ”, accounting’s controversial art of liquidating companies to allow directors to return with a new entity, free of debts.” “Because it usually requires liquidating their assets or entering a repayment plan, Americans generally turn to it as a last resort.” Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin liquidātus (“liquid; clear”, adjective) + English -ate (suffix forming verbs, and forming adjectives with the sense ‘characterized by [the specified things]’). Liquidātus is the perfect passive participle of liquidō (“to turn into a liquid, melt; to make clear”), from Latin liquidus (“fluid, liquid; clear, transparent”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs); while liquidus is from liqueō (“to be fluid or liquid; to be clear or transparent”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wleykʷ- (“to make wet; moist”)) + -idus (suffix meaning ‘tending to’ forming adjectives). By surface analysis, liquid (adjective) + -ate. Verb sense 1.2.3 (“to kill; to abolish or eliminate”) is a semantic loan from Russian ликвиди́ровать (likvidírovatʹ); while verb sense 1.2.4 and verb sense 2 (business-related senses) were influenced by French liquider and Italian liquidare, all ultimately from Latin liquidus (see above).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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