kaput
Americanadjective
-
ruined; done for; demolished.
-
unable to operate or continue.
The washing machine is suddenly kaput.
idioms
adjective
Etymology
Origin of kaput
First recorded in 1890–95; from German: originally, “trickless” (in game of piquet), from French (être) capot “(to be) without tricks,” i.e., make zero score
Explanation
Something that's kaput is broken, dead, or worthless. When your old car is finally kaput, it's not even worth fixing. You can use the adjective kaput to describe things that have stopped working as well as those that are utterly destroyed: "After the war, the whole village was basically kaput." You might have a fight with a pal and feel like your friendship is kaput, or quit your job and say, "Well, my career as a grocery bagger is kaput." The word comes from the German kaputt, "destroyed or lost."
Vocabulary lists containing kaput
Don't Want to Be Your Monster
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Each Little Bird That Sings
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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.
With less than a month of games remaining, the Lakers season is done, finished, kaput.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Jerry Seinfeld, who presumably knows a thing or two about show business, has said the film industry as currently constituted is kaput, even if Tinseltown has been slow to understand what’s happened in recent decades.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
"Don't worry about this Rwanda issue. It is kaput," he claimed.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2024
So, I’m not surprised this thing finally went kaput.
From Slate • Jan. 12, 2024
When it was over, his excuse for hanging out with her would be kaput.
From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
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.
