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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bankruptcy
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How does bankruptcy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
The company was rebranded after 23andMe filed for bankruptcy last year.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
Wiping clean the empty high-rise towers besmirching the city skyline with florid graffiti art is a stated priority for buyers and the city, but a federal bankruptcy court has yet to approve the sale.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
They end up having to sell off a section of land, or they can’t rent additional land, and eventually they risk bankruptcy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
In fact, getting into the business of shooting satellites into low-Earth-orbit had always been a good way to wind up in bankruptcy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
If Morgan Stanley failed, however, its share in their fund wound up as an asset in a bankruptcy proceeding.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
