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bankruptcy

[ bangk-ruhpt-see, -ruh p-see ]
/ ˈbæŋk rʌpt si, -rəp si /
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noun, plural bank·rupt·cies.

the state of being or becoming bankrupt.
utter ruin, failure, depletion, or the like.

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RELATED WORDS

loss, liquidation, disaster, insolvency, default, failure, ruination, privation, nonpayment, destitution, ruin, lack, indigence, indebtedness, repudiation, exhaustion, defalcation, pauperism, overdraft

Nearby words

  1. banknote,
  2. bankroll,
  3. bankroller,
  4. bankrupt,
  5. bankrupt worm,
  6. bankruptcy order,
  7. banks,
  8. banks island,
  9. banks, nathaniel prentiss,
  10. banks, sir joseph

Origin of bankruptcy

First recorded in 1690–1700; bankrupt + -cy
Related formspre·bank·rupt·cy, noun, plural pre·bank·rupt·cies.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bankruptcy

British Dictionary definitions for bankruptcy

bankruptcy

/ (ˈbæŋkrʌptsɪ, -rəptsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

the state, condition, or quality of being or becoming bankrupt
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bankruptcy

bankruptcy

n.

1700, from bankrupt, "probably on the analogy of insolvency, but with -t erroneously retained in spelling, instead of being merged in the suffix ...." [OED]. Figurative use from 1761.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Culture definitions for bankruptcy

bankruptcy

Legally declared insolvency, or inability to pay creditors.

Note

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.

Note

An individual who is lacking a specific resource or quality is sometimes said to be bankrupt, as in intellectually bankrupt or morally bankrupt.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.