liability

liability
/luy'euh bil"i tee/, n., pl. liabilities.
1. liabilities,
a. moneys owed; debts or pecuniary obligations (opposed to assets).
b. Accounting. liabilities as detailed on a balance sheet, esp. in relation to assets and capital.
2. something disadvantageous: His lack of education is his biggest liability.
3. Also, liableness. the state or quality of being liable: liability to disease.
[1785-95; LI(ABLE) + -ABILITY]

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▪ law
      in law, a broad term including almost every type of duty, obligation, debt, responsibility, or hazard arising by way of contract, tort, or statute.

      The extent of liability is often regulated by contract. For example, a limited partnership may often be formed so that certain partners designated as limited—as opposed to general—are liable for the firm's obligations only to the extent of their contribution to the firm's capital. Liability may also be governed by the customs of tort, as when children, insane persons, and other legally incompetent persons are not considered to be legally responsible for their actions.

      The amount of liability may also be determined by reference to a statute. Thus, stockholders under certain statutes have a personal liability making them individually responsible for the debts of the corporation to the extent of the par value of their stock or some other specified limit.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • liability — li·a·bil·i·ty /ˌlī ə bi lə tē/ n pl ties 1: the quality or state of being liable 2: something for which one is liable: as a: a financial obligation: debt tax liability the bonds …   Law dictionary

  • LIABILITY — (Torts). Every person of full mental capacity, male or female (BK 15a), when causing injury to another person, is liable to the injured party for any damage which his negligent conduct causes the latter to suffer (see torts ), even a husband to… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Liability — Li a*bil i*ty (l[imac] [.a]*b[i^]l [i^]*t[y^]), n.; pl. {Liabilities} ( t[i^]z). [1913 Webster] 1. The state of being liable; as, the liability of an insurer; liability to accidents; liability to the law. [1913 Webster] 2. That which one is under …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • liability — [n1] answerability, responsibility accountability, accountableness, amenability, amenableness, arrearage, blame, burden, compulsion, culpability, debt, duty, indebtedness, obligation, onus, owing, subjection, susceptibility; concept 645 Ant.… …   New thesaurus

  • liability — liability. См. подверженность. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • liability — Any legal obligation for which a person is responsible. (Dictionary of Canadian Bankruptcy Terms) United Glossary of Bankruptcy Terms 2012 …   Glossary of Bankruptcy

  • liability — 1790, originally a term in law; condition of being legally liable; see LIABLE (Cf. liable) + ITY (Cf. ity). General sense is from 1809; meaning thing for which one is liable is first attested 1842. Related: Liabilities …   Etymology dictionary

  • Liability —   Liability is usually, a legal obligation to pay a definite or reasonably certain amount at a definite or reasonably certain time in return for a current benefit. Some of the criteria are not met by items classified as liabilities where there… …   International financial encyclopaedia

  • liability — /ingl. ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ s. f. inv. passività, passivo …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • liability — *debt, indebtedness, obligation, debit, arrear Antonyms: asset (or plural assets) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • liability — ► NOUN (pl. liabilities) 1) the state of being liable. 2) a thing for which someone is liable, especially a financial obligation. 3) a person or thing likely to cause one embarrassment or put one at a disadvantage …   English terms dictionary

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