liquidation

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
liquidate/ˈlɪkwɪdeɪt/

▶verb

• 1 wind up the affairs of (a company) by ascertaining liabilities and apportioning assets.

  ■ convert (assets) into cash.

  ■ pay off (a debt).

• 2 informal eliminate; kill.

– derivatives
liquidation noun,
liquidator noun.

– origin C16 (in the sense ‘set out accounts clearly’): from med. L. liquidat-, liquidare ‘make clear’, from L. liquidus (see liquid).