bankrupt

¹bank·rupt

noun \ˈbaŋk-(ˌ)rəpt\

Definition of BANKRUPT

1

a : a person who has done any of the acts that by law entitle creditors to have his or her estate administered for their benefit b : a person judicially declared subject to having his or her estate administered under the bankrupt laws for the benefit of creditors c : a person who becomes insolvent

2

: a person who is completely lacking in a particular desirable quality or attribute <a moral bankrupt>

Examples of BANKRUPT

1. As a lawyer, she specialized in working with bankrupts.

Origin of BANKRUPT

modification of Middle French & Old Italian; Middle French banqueroute bankruptcy, from Old Italian bancarotta, from banca bank + rotta broken, from Latin rupta, feminine of ruptus, past participle of rumpere to break — more at bank, reave

First Known Use: 1533

Other Economics Terms

actuary, compound interest, globalization, indemnity, portfolio, rentier, stagflation, usurer

Rhymes with BANKRUPT

abrupt, corrupt, disrupt, erupt, irrupt