flat broke

SEE SYNONYMS FOR flat broke ON THESAURUS.COM

Also, stone or stony broke. Completely penniless. For example, I can't help you—I'm flat broke, or He's stone broke again. The first term dates from the mid-1800s and uses flat in the sense of “completely” or “downright.” The variant dates from the late 1800s.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby flat broke

flat arch, flat as a pancake, flat back, flat bond, flat bone, flat broke, flat bug, flat cap, flat character, flat chest, flat condyloma
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Words related to flat broke

needy, penniless, impoverished, destitute, poverty-stricken, bankrupt, broke, indigent, underprivileged, meager, low, insolvent, poor, strapped, exhausted, distressed, barren, flat, down-and-out, scanty

Example sentences from the Web for flat broke

  • At last he says to me, 'You are flat-broke, and they'll all be down on you when you get back to the post.

    The Deserter|Charles King