verb
liquidate
LIHK-wih-dayt
verb
1
To convert assets into cash, often to pay off debts.
"The company liquidated its stock to cover the outstanding loan."
2
To close down a business by settling its debts and distributing any remaining assets.
"The failing firm was forced to liquidate after years of losses."
3
To kill someone, especially for political reasons; to eliminate.
"The regime liquidated anyone seen as a threat to its power."
How to Use Liquidate
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo turn assets into cash, to shut down a business formally, or (more grimly) to kill someone off.
Common pairings
liquidate assets
liquidate a company
liquidate debt
Word Forms
liquidated past tense, liquidates singular
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Etymology
From Late Latin liquidatus ("made clear, liquid") plus the verb-forming suffix -ate. The "kill" sense entered English as a borrowed meaning from Russian likvidirovat.