bankrupt
Americannoun
-
bankrupts
plural
-
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.
-
any insolvent debtor; a person unable to satisfy any just claims made upon them.
-
a person who is lacking in a particular thing or quality.
a moral bankrupt.
adjective
-
Law. subject to or under legal process because of insolvency; insolvent.
- Synonyms:
- impoverished, destitute
-
at the end of one's resources; lacking (usually followed by of orin ).
bankrupt of compassion;
bankrupt in good manners.
-
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)
-
bankrupts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bankrupted,
past participle, past
-
bankrupting
present participle
noun
-
a person adjudged insolvent by a court, his or her property being transferred to a trustee and administered for the benefit of his creditors
-
any person unable to discharge all his or her debts
-
a person whose resources in a certain field are exhausted or nonexistent
a spiritual bankrupt
adjective
-
adjudged insolvent
-
financially ruined
-
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
-
bankruptsimple
-
bankruptssimple
-
have bankruptedperfect
-
has bankruptedperfect
-
am bankruptingprogressive
-
are bankruptingprogressive
-
is bankruptingprogressive
-
have been bankruptingperfect progressive
-
has been bankruptingperfect progressive
Past
-
bankruptedsimple
-
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)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Make a Break for It: Rupt
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Great Depression and The New Deal
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
In 2024 the Crown Estate took legal responsibility for the building under ancient property laws after the last owner gave up his rights to it when he went bankrupt and a restoration project collapsed.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Unsecured creditors of bankrupt Dish Wireless are seeking to appoint an independent trustee and disqualify the company’s legal adviser, White & Case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Former Liverpool and England player turned pundit Jamie Carragher faces being declared bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill, said to be in the region of £700,000 and £800,000.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
As Ernest Hemingway wrote a century ago: One goes bankrupt two ways — gradually, and then suddenly.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
We will have to finish the house ourselves, because the man who was supposed to do it has gone bankrupt.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the authors write, tried to ensure that only “honest but unfortunate” debtors benefited from bankruptcy’s by directing “professional bankrupts . . . to restitution or jail.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
"It's sad to see childhood legends turn into moral bankrupts," Heraskevych said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“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
The customer who plays zero-sum games against them may win from time to time but never systematically, and never so spectacularly that he bankrupts the casino.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The man who shot Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, said he had held a grudge against the prime minister because of his ties with the Unification Church, which had bankrupted his family.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
The First Punic War spanned 23 years and nearly bankrupted both sides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
The cases are ongoing, with plaintiffs also filing claims against the trusts of companies bankrupted by the litigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 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
“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.
