bankruptcy
Americannoun
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the state of being or becoming bankrupt.
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utter ruin, failure, depletion, or the like.
noun
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If an individual or a corporation declares bankruptcy, a court will appoint an official to make an inventory of the individual's or corporation's assets and to establish a schedule by which creditors can be partially repaid what is owed them.
An individual who is lacking a specific resource or quality is sometimes said to be bankrupt, as in intellectually bankrupt or morally bankrupt.
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Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bankruptcy
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Explanation
Bankruptcy is a state of being bankrupt, or having no money to pay back debts that you owe. When you file for bankruptcy, you are giving up all your possessions and declaring, essentially, that you don't have any money left. During the recession, lots of businesses had to file for bankruptcy or declare by law that they were unable to pay off their debts. The ending of the word bankruptcy is a tricky one. Remember that it ends in tcy.
Vocabulary lists containing bankruptcy
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Economics
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2010, Herbst Gaming declared bankruptcy and saw Primm taken over by Z Capital Partners.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Clemetson said he was excited about Primm’s future under Terrible’s and chalked up its bankruptcy in 2010 to the Great Recession.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Foundation is also an opportunity for Pathak to prove himself - Synapse, the financial services firm he co-founded and led, filed for bankruptcy in 2024.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
Jim Justice is credited with saving the Greenbrier when he purchased it out of bankruptcy in 2009.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
He had filed for bankruptcy, and by 1988 he was back on his feet again, in the oil business, although on a far reduced basis.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
