Meaning & use
legal liability
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Meanings
noununcountablelegallaw
the state of being responsible under the law for something, especially for harm, loss, or debt.
Grammar: No plural in this sense; it names a general condition, like 'responsibility'.
Patterns
- legal liability for something
- accept legal liability
- admit legal liability
The company accepted legal liability for the accident and paid for the repairs.
After the fire, the landlord's legal liability for the damage was decided in court.
Drivers should understand their legal liability if someone is injured in their car.
nouncountablelegallawfinance
a duty or amount of money that a person or organization owes by law.
Grammar: Countable here: you can talk about one liability or several liabilities.
Patterns
- a legal liability
- list something as a legal liability
- pay off a legal liability
The unpaid taxes were recorded as a legal liability on the balance sheet.
She listed the mortgage as her only legal liability.
The firm's legal liabilities grew after several lawsuits.
Word forms
| plural | legal liabilities |
|---|
Common combinations
- accept legal liability
- The builder refused to accept legal liability for the cracked walls.
- legal liability for something
- The hospital has legal liability for any mistakes made by its staff.
- limit legal liability
- The contract tries to limit legal liability to the value of the goods.
- admit legal liability
- The council admitted legal liability and offered compensation.
- a legal liability on the balance sheet
- The loan appears as a legal liability on the balance sheet.
Synonyms and how they differ
- responsibility
- More general and not always legal; use 'legal liability' when the duty comes from the law.
- obligation
- A duty you must perform, often from a contract or promise; it need not involve harm or payment.
- accountability
- Focuses on being answerable for your actions, while 'legal liability' focuses on what the law makes you pay or do.
Word family
Commonly confused: legal liability or libel? legal liability or reliability?
legal liability vs libel
Libel is a written false statement that harms someone's reputation; legal liability is the responsibility you carry under the law.
legal liability vs reliability
Reliability means being dependable or trustworthy, which sounds similar but has nothing to do with legal duty.
Practice
The factory ___ legal liability for the pollution and agreed to clean the river.
Choose one answer.
'Accepted legal liability' is the natural verb + noun pattern with a past simple verb matching the sentence. 'Accepted to' is wrong because 'accept' takes a direct object without 'to', and 'was accepted' would mean the factory itself was received, not that it took on responsibility.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “legal liability”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.