Synonyms

kaput

American

[kah-poot, -poot, kuh-] / kɑˈpʊt, -ˈput, kə- /

adjective

Slang.

ruined; done for; demolished.
unable to operate or continue.

The washing machine is suddenly kaput.

idioms

go kaput, to cease functioning; break down.

The old car finally went kaput.

kaput British

/ kæˈpʊt /

adjective

informal (postpositive) ruined, broken, or not functioning

"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

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

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.

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

I feel I need to go until I’m done thinking or until my brain just goes kaput.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 21, 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

And then I think, does she mean “finished,” as in kaput, over and done with, out of commission?

From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023