液体是物质的四个基本状态之一（其它状态有固体、气体、等离子体），没有确定的形状，但有一定体积，具有移动与转动等运动性。液体是由经分子间作用力结合在一起的微小振动粒子（例如原子和分子）组成。水是地球上最常见的液体。和气体一样，液体可以流动，可以容纳于各种形状的容器。有些液体不易被压缩，而有些则可以被压缩。和气体不同的是，液体不能扩散布满整个容器，而是有相对固定的密度。液体的一个与众不同的属性是表面张力，它可以导致浸润现象。

液体的密度通常接近于固体，而远大于气体。因此，液体和固体都被归为凝聚态物质。另一方面，液体和气体都可以流动，都可被称为流体。虽然液态水在地球上很丰富，但在已知的宇宙中，液态并不是最常见的物态。因为液体的存在需要相对较窄的温度和压强范围。宇宙中最常见的物态是气体（如星际云气）和等离子体（如恒星中）。

A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, and plasma), and is the only state with a definite volume but no fixed shape. A liquid is made up of tiny vibrating particles of matter, such as atoms, held together by intermolecular bonds. Water is, by far, the most common liquid on Earth. Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Most liquids resist compression, although others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly constant density. A distinctive property of the liquid state is surface tension, leading to wetting phenomena.