bankrupt
Americannoun
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Law. a person who upon their own petition or that of their creditors is adjudged insolvent by a court and whose property is administered for and divided among their creditors under a bankruptcy law.
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any insolvent debtor; a person unable to satisfy any just claims made upon them.
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a person who is lacking in a particular thing or quality.
a moral bankrupt.
adjective
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Law. subject to or under legal process because of insolvency; insolvent.
- Synonyms:
- impoverished, destitute
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at the end of one's resources; lacking (usually followed by of orin ).
bankrupt of compassion;
bankrupt in good manners.
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related to the act or process of being adjudged insolvent by a court and having one's property andministered for and divided among one's creditors.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a person adjudged insolvent by a court, his or her property being transferred to a trustee and administered for the benefit of his creditors
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any person unable to discharge all his or her debts
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a person whose resources in a certain field are exhausted or nonexistent
a spiritual bankrupt
adjective
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adjudged insolvent
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financially ruined
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depleted in resources or having completely failed
spiritually bankrupt
-
(foll by of) lacking
bankrupt of intelligence
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bankruptsimple
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bankruptssimple
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have bankruptedperfect
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has bankruptedperfect
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am bankruptingprogressive
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are bankruptingprogressive
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is bankruptingprogressive
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have been bankruptingperfect progressive
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has been bankruptingperfect progressive
Past
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bankruptedsimple
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had bankruptedperfect
-
was bankruptingprogressive
-
were bankruptingprogressive
-
had been bankruptingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bankrupt
First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin banca rupta “bank broken”; replacing adaptations of Italian banca rota and French banqueroute in same sense
Explanation
You might not have any money in your pocket, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are bankrupt. It takes a legal proceeding for the courts to declare a person bankrupt — or officially unable to pay his debts. Despite the word bank in bankrupt, the word can be used to describe an entity that is short of something other than money. A bankrupt nation might not have the natural resources for its people to produce goods. A nearby country that could easily help but chooses not to may be considered morally bankrupt because of its lack of compassion. Or, maybe there is more to the story. That nation might fear that helping another will bankrupt its own shaky economy. (That is how bankrupt can be used as a verb.)
Vocabulary lists containing bankrupt
Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Make a Break for It: Rupt
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The Great Depression and The New Deal
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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.
See Examples For:
Among other factors, the report highlighted that 500,000 Russians went bankrupt last year, that as many as 15% of bank loans were nonperforming — and that that number is likely to increase.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
“So the taxpayers of the United States subsidized the creation of this new property to help bankrupt another federally subsidized property,” he said.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
By restructuring Revolutionary War debts into Treasury bonds, creating a national currency, and establishing a national bank, Hamilton turned the bankrupt nation into a trusted borrower.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
About half of the 1999 IPO class went bankrupt by 2001, including one-time big names such as Webvan and EToys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
After a century of war, Volantis found herself broken, bankrupt, and depopulated.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
“If it so happens that it bankrupts or puts these individuals and entities in financial peril, so be it.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2021
The fight almost bankrupts the rural town of Shelby, Mont., which borrows heavily to stage it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2020
“Not doing so bankrupts the principles, leaving them worthless for all,” Mr. Orr said in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2015
Only the Co-op and Barclays offered accounts to those who are undischarged bankrupts - generally the 12 months after a bankruptcy order is made.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2012
"Take me away from here," she said, "you bankrupts."
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
The First Punic War spanned 23 years and nearly bankrupted both sides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
His mother's devotion to the Unification Church bankrupted the family, and Yamagami bore a grudge against Abe after realising the ex-leader's ties to the controversial church.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
While her husband and his ministers bankrupted France, she played at the simple life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
Medical care for those serious conditions is expensive, and could have bankrupted someone with inadequate insurance.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2025
“You must have bankrupted your kingdom for such a reward, my friend.”
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
But she works far fewer hours in New Zealand, gets six weeks of paid vacation and unlimited sick days, and no longer feels like her care is bankrupting patients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Perhaps most evil are the acquisitions of hospitals for the sole purpose of bankrupting them and selling off assets to line someone else’s pockets.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 26, 2026
“I’m getting calls from the East Coast asking me if people should invest in bankrupting L.A. County,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025
If successful, Energy Transfer’s $300 million lawsuit may end up bankrupting the advocacy group as a whole, both domestically and internationally.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2025
He thought nothing of bankrupting his own people to buy Rome’s protection.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
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.
