v.
- wind up the affairs of (a company) by ascertaining liabilities and apportioning assets.
▸convert (assets) into cash.
▸pay off (a debt).
- informal eliminate; kill.
Derivative
- liquidation n.
- liquidator n.
Etymology
C16 (in the sense ‘set out accounts clearly’): from med. L. liquidat-, liquidare ‘make clear’, from L. liquidus (see liquid).