Meaning & use
legally liable
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Meanings
phrasefixed phraselegallaw
Responsible under the law for damage, debt, or a wrong act, so that you must pay or be punished.
Grammar: Used after the verb be; usually followed by for + thing or person: They are legally liable for the repairs.
Patterns
- be legally liable for something
- be legally liable to someone
- hold someone legally liable
- legally liable to pay
The company was found legally liable for the pollution in the river.
If you sign the contract, you are legally liable for any unpaid rent.
Parents can be held legally liable for damage caused by their children.
phrasefixed phraselegallaw
Required by law to do something or to pay a sum of money.
Grammar: Often followed by to + infinitive: The driver is legally liable to pay a fine.
Patterns
- be legally liable to do something
- be legally liable to pay something
Under the new rules, employers are legally liable to provide safety training.
The buyer is legally liable to pay the full amount within thirty days.
Common combinations
- be held legally liable
- The court held the manufacturer legally liable for the faulty brakes.
- legally liable for damages
- The landlord is legally liable for damages caused by broken pipes.
- legally liable to pay
- The tenant is legally liable to pay the last month's rent.
- found legally liable
- The jury found the hospital legally liable for the mistake.
Synonyms and how they differ
- responsible
- Responsible is a general word for duty or blame and need not involve the law; legally liable always means the law can force you to pay or act.
- answerable
- Answerable suggests you must explain or justify your actions, often to a person or group, while legally liable points to a legal duty or penalty.
Opposites
Word family
- liability noun
- A legal responsibility for something, or a person or thing that causes trouble.
- liabilities noun
- Debts or amounts that a company or person owes.
Commonly confused: legally liable or reliable? legally liable or libel?
legally liable vs reliable
Reliable means able to be trusted; legally liable is about legal responsibility. They sound similar but have very different meanings.
legally liable vs libel
Libel is a written false statement that harms someone's reputation; legally liable is about legal responsibility in general.
Practice
The factory was found legally liable ___ the chemical leak.
Choose one answer.
We use 'legally liable for' a thing like damage or a leak. 'Liable to' is used before a verb (liable to pay), not before a noun like 'the leak'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “legally liable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.