liability
part of speech
noun (a liability, liabilities; liability, uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) (law) Liability is being legally responsible for something, especially for paying for damage or harm. tree →
2) (money) Liabilities are money a person or company owes. tree →
3) (informal) A liability is a person or thing that causes problems or puts others at risk: "He's a liability on the team." tree →
sense in the lessons
In adult life and money lessons, companies list assets (what they own) and liabilities (what they owe). Signs at pools or car parks may say the owners accept "no liability" for loss. In everyday speech, a clumsy or risky person is called a liability. Phrases: «accept liability», «no liability», «a liability to», «assets and liabilities».
examples
- Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- The shop accepts no liability for lost umbrellas. tree →
- The company's liabilities were bigger than its money, so it closed. tree →
- The broken ladder is a liability; someone could fall. tree →
- With his bad ankle, he was a liability in the match. tree →
- The driver admitted liability for the crash. tree →
- Debts are liabilities. tree →
note
Plural: liabilities. Adjective: liable («liable for damage» = responsible; «liable to fall» = likely). In money maths: assets minus liabilities = what you are really worth.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «liability» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.