bankrupt

American  

[bangk-ruhpt, -ruhpt] / ˈbæŋk rʌpt, -rəpt /

noun

1. Law. a person who upon their own petition or that of their creditors is adjudged insolvent by a court and whose property is administered for and divided among their creditors under a bankruptcy law.

2. any insolvent debtor; a person unable to satisfy any just claims made upon them.

3. a person who is lacking in a particular thing or quality.

   a moral bankrupt.

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adjective

1. Law. subject to or under legal process because of insolvency; insolvent.

   Synonyms:

   impoverished, destitute

2. at the end of one's resources; lacking (usually followed by of orin ).

   bankrupt of compassion;

   bankrupt in good manners.

3. related to the act or process of being adjudged insolvent by a court and having one's property andministered for and divided among one's creditors.

verb (used with object)

1. to make insolvent.

   His embezzlement bankrupted the company.

bankrupt British  

/ ˈbæŋkrʌpt, -rəpt /

noun

1. a person adjudged insolvent by a court, his or her property being transferred to a trustee and administered for the benefit of his creditors

2. any person unable to discharge all his or her debts

3. a person whose resources in a certain field are exhausted or nonexistent

   a spiritual bankrupt

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adjective

1. adjudged insolvent

2. financially ruined

3. depleted in resources or having completely failed

   spiritually bankrupt

4. (foll by of) lacking

   bankrupt of intelligence

verb

1. (tr) to make bankrupt

Other Word Forms

• pseudobankrupt adjective
• quasi-bankrupt adjective

Etymology

Origin of bankrupt

First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin banca rupta “bank broken”; replacing adaptations of Italian banca rota and French banqueroute in same sense

Example Sentences

His comments follow a series of warnings over the recent surge in investment in AI, with some claiming the sector amounts to a bubble set to burst, rocking markets and bankrupting companies.

From BBC

Perhaps most evil are the acquisitions of hospitals for the sole purpose of bankrupting them and selling off assets to line someone else’s pockets.

From MarketWatch

Their ACA insurance wasn’t “the greatest plan, but it gave us some coverage and made sure we wouldn’t go bankrupt if something happened,” said Lenny Wilson, who co-owns an IT business.

From The Wall Street Journal

A dilapidated watermill was up for sale after its previous owner, who saved it from demolition in the 1970s, had gone bankrupt.

From BBC

His stories led him to investigate collapsed cryptocurrency companies, bankrupt opioid manufacturers and emerging-market economies unable to pay for imports of food and fuel.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• broke
• destitute
• failed
• insolvent