stone-broke
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of stone-broke
First recorded in 1885–90
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.
But the heroes of “The Beaux’ Stratagem” – two well-mannered but stone-broke gentlemen in search of marriageable heiresses – are far more respectful of the opposite sex than the love-‘em-and-leave-‘em 007 usually is.
From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2015
Betty had fetched up on the rectory doorstep last February, stone-broke and despondent about four divorces and a dead-end acting career.
From Time Magazine Archive
But a stone-broke Evans has lost her home.
From Time Magazine Archive
The whole company was on the bum and stone-broke.
From It, and Other Stories by Morris, Gouverneur
Men may be hard up or even stone-broke; there are slums; there are hard-worked women; but there is no general fear of poverty.
From As We Are and As We May Be by Besant, Walter, Sir
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.
