liquidate

Verb
Synonyms: neutralizeneutralisewasteknock offdo inpay off

WordNet 3.0

Verb (4)

  1. get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing“The mafia liquidated the informer”“the double agent was neutralized”Synonyms: neutralizeneutralisewasteknock offdo in
  2. eliminate by paying off (debts)Synonyms: pay off
  3. convert into cash“I had to liquidate my holdings to pay off my ex-husband”
  4. settle the affairs of by determining the debts and applying the assets to pay them off“liquidate a company”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Liquidate \Liq"ui*date\ (l[i^]k"w[i^]*d[=a]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Liquidated (-d[=a]`t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Liquidating.] [LL. liquidatus, p. p. of liquidare to liquidate, fr. L. liquidus liquid, clear. See Liquid.]

1.(Law) To determine by agreement or by litigation the precise amount of (indebtedness); or, where there is an indebtedness to more than one person, to determine the precise amount of (each indebtedness); to make the amount of (an indebtedness) clear and certain. [1913 Webster]

A debt or demand is liquidated whenever the amount due is agreed on by the parties, or fixed by the operation of law.— 15 Ga. Rep. 321.[1913 Webster]
If our epistolary accounts were fairly liquidated, I believe you would be brought in considerable debtor.— Chesterfield.[1913 Webster]

2.In an extended sense: To ascertain the amount, or the several amounts, of, and apply assets toward the discharge of (an indebtedness). --Abbott. [1913 Webster]

3.To discharge; to pay off or settle, as an indebtedness. [1913 Webster]

Friburg was ceded to Zurich by Sigismund to liquidate a debt of a thousand florins.— W. Coxe.[1913 Webster]

4.To make clear and intelligible. [1913 Webster]

Time only can liquidate the meaning of all parts of a compound system.— A. Hamilton.[1913 Webster]

5.To make liquid. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

6.To convert (assets) into cash. [PJC]

7.To kill; -- used mostly of governments or organizations killing their enemies; as, Stalin liquidated many of the Kulaks. [PJC]

8.To dissolve (an organization); to terminate (an activity). [PJC]

Liquidated damages (Law), damages the amount of which is fixed or ascertained. --Abbott. [1913 Webster]

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