bankrupt

noun bank·rupt \ ˈbaŋk-(ˌ)rəpt \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of bankrupt

1 a : a debtor (such as an individual or an organization) whose property is subject to voluntary or involuntary administration under the bankrupcy laws for the benefit of the debtor's creditors

b : a person who becomes insolvent

2 : a person who is completely lacking in a particular desirable quality or attribute

a moral bankrupt

See bankrupt defined for English-language learners

See bankrupt defined for kids

Examples of bankrupt in a Sentence

As a lawyer, she specialized in working with bankrupts.

Recent Examples of bankrupt from the Web

Alitalia was officially declared bankrupt in May, when staff rejected a restructuring plan.

— stephen wilmot, WSJ, "Airline Dealmaking Won’t Cure Europe’s Profit Problem," 2 Aug. 2017
The business, which went bankrupt in previous incarnations in 2005 and 2009, may still find a way to restructure its debt out of court.

— lauren coleman-lochner, Bloomberg.com, "Winn-Dixie and Tops Owners Are Said to Prepare for Bankruptcy," 17 Feb. 2018
Prior to the label going bankrupt, PolyGram Records purchased 50 percent of Def Jam, and took control of distribution to save the label.

— michael saponara, Billboard, "A Timeline of the Major Events That Defined Def Jam's Legacy in Hip-Hop," 25 Jan. 2018
By Preston Turegano, Staff writer A new era begins today for the once bankrupt and demoralized San Diego Symphony.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "Record symphony gift," 14 Jan. 2018
The family sold the company in 1968 to Southland Dairy, which went bankrupt in the early 1990s.

— julia terruso, Philly.com, "Kensington's giant milk bottle gets historic designation," 12 Jan. 2018
Power restoration is at a crawl because the grid collapsed, the utility is bankrupt and the logistics are daunting: Crews and supplies have to come from the mainland, then make their way into rugged interior areas like Utuado.

— Washington Post, "Life Without Power," 14 Dec. 2017
In Italy, administrators are seeking bids for all or parts of flag carrier Alitalia SpA, which was declared bankrupt in May. Bids are due Oct. 16 for a process that is expected to run into 2018.

— robert wall, WSJ, "Air Berlin Collapse Kicks Off European Airline Consolidation," 12 Oct. 2017
Though the city of 18,000 is in a state of fiscal emergency, King has pivoted away from Norton's strategy of trying to merge the city with Cleveland or declare the city bankrupt.

— emily bamforth, cleveland.com, "Brandon King wins East Cleveland Democratic mayoral primary, will face Devin Branch in November," 12 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bankrupt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1638

See Words from the same year

Other Economics Terms

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

bankrupt

adjective

Definition of bankrupt

1 a : reduced to a state of financial ruin : impoverished; specifically : legally declared a bankrupt

the company went bankrupt

b : of or relating to bankrupts or bankruptcy

bankrupt laws

2 a : broken, ruined

a bankrupt professional career

b : exhausted of valuable qualities : sterile

a bankrupt old culture

c : destitute —used with of or in

bankrupt of all merciful feelings

See bankrupt defined for English-language learners

Examples of bankrupt in a Sentence

The lawsuit could leave them bankrupt.
she's a kind soul, but bankrupt of all common sense, I'm afraid

Recent Examples of bankrupt from the Web

One is the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the result of renovations to the former Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, which Mr. Icahn bought after Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. went bankrupt and sold in 2017.

— cara lombardo, WSJ, "Carl Icahn All But Exits Casinos With Tropicana Entertainment Sale," 16 Apr. 2018
In addition, Kroger bought 11 Marsh stores last year after the chain went bankrupt, including one at 116th Street and Brooks School Road in Fishers.

— john tuohy, Indianapolis Star, "Kroger drops plan for Fishers superstore and the Amazon-Whole Foods deal could be why," 9 Apr. 2018
Musk, 46, risked coming off as tone deaf to investor concerns by sending a series of April Fools’ Day tweets to joke that Tesla had gone bankrupt.

— Fortune, "Tesla's Trying to Fix Things But Investors Keep Bailing As the Stock Drops off a Cliff," 2 Apr. 2018
Aren’t insurance companies not allowed to go bankrupt?

— sui-lee wee and zhang tiantian, New York Times, "Anbang Was Seized by China. Now, It Has a Deal for You.," 29 Mar. 2018
According to a 2013 Hutchinson study, having cancer makes patients two-and-half times more likely to go bankrupt, with younger patients facing more acute risks.

— cassie owens, Philly.com, "Philly Zine Fest founder maintains successful GoFundMe page for his cancer bills, and it still isn't enough," 20 Mar. 2018
Her cute apparel line, Bitten, bit the dust when her partners went bankrupt.

— cathy horyn, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Girl Just Wants to Have Fun," 6 Aug. 2013
Yes, because conservatives get sick and go bankrupt, too.

— Fox News, "Carter Page: I feel guilty that I didn't fight back harder," 31 Mar. 2018
The company, for which Baker was chief financial officer, went bankrupt in 1998.

— darryl fears, idahostatesman, "An Idaho mining firm exec griped to Zinke about pollution rules. Zinke apologized. | Idaho Statesman," 29 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of bankrupt

1565

bankrupt Synonyms

Other Economics Terms

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

bankrupt

verb

Definition of bankrupt

transitive verb

1 : to reduce to bankruptcy

2 : impoverish

defections had bankrupted the party of its brainpower

See bankrupt defined for English-language learners

Examples of bankrupt in a Sentence

Several risky deals bankrupted the company.
several bad investments bankrupted him

Recent Examples of bankrupt from the Web

On another night, a dinner in a hotel ballroom was accompanied by a video procession of parents explaining how they were bankrupted by their children’s cancer diagnoses.

— rachel aviv, The New Yorker, "A Sidelined Wall Street Legend Bets on Bitcoin," 10 Apr. 2018
Moving up wouldn't bankrupt Miami from a draft-capital standpoint.

— jordan mcpherson, miamiherald, "Could the Dolphins trade up in the NFL draft? One ESPN analyst sees it happening | Miami Herald," 4 Apr. 2018
After its last series of civil wars, (the board) adopted bylaws that are bankrupting it.

— ben fong-torres, San Francisco Chronicle, "FM pioneer KPFA’s near-death experience," 14 Feb. 2018
Halo House was founded in 2009 to help out-of-town patients whose housing costs during treatment can bankrupt them.

— todd ackerman, Houston Chronicle, "Cancer scientist Jim Allison and band to play rare local gig," 29 Mar. 2018
Betting on low interest rates to persist was a mistake that has ultimately bankrupted dozens of retailers.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "The Real Retail Killer," 28 Mar. 2018
As a growing body of research illuminates the current and future scope of flooding, adaptation strategies are beginning to look more attractive than the traditional (and bankrupting) cycle of rebuilding.

— jen schwartz, Scientific American, "National Flood Insurance Is Underwater Because of Outdated Science," 23 Mar. 2018
In an interview with Daily Beast, 79-year-old Sister Rita Callanan detailed her vow to stand — with the assistance of a walker — against the singer who bankrupted her.

— amanda arnold, The Cut, "Last Nun Standing Says She’ll Never Stop Fighting Katy Perry," 22 Mar. 2018
The children of the 1960s men, the last Soviet generation, declared their fathers bankrupt both financially and intellectually.

— The Economist, "A new generation is rising in Russia," 22 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of bankrupt

circa 1625

bankrupt Synonyms

Synonyms

break, bust, ruin;

Near Antonyms

enrich, richen;

Related Words

beggar, impoverish, pauperize;

reduce, straiten;

clean (out), wipe out;

Synonym Discussion of bankrupt

deplete, drain, exhaust, impoverish, bankrupt mean to deprive of something essential to existence or potency. deplete implies a reduction in number or quantity so as to endanger the ability to function.

- depleting our natural resources

drain implies a gradual withdrawal and ultimate deprivation of what is necessary to an existence.

- personal tragedy had drained him of all spirit

exhaust stresses a complete emptying.

- her lecture exhausted the subject

impoverish suggests a deprivation of something essential to richness or productiveness.

- impoverished soil

bankrupt suggests impoverishment to the point of imminent collapse.

- war had bankrupted the nation of resources

Other Economics Terms

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

BANKRUPT Defined for English Language Learners

bankrupt

noun

Definition of bankrupt for English Language Learners

: a person, business, etc., that is unable to pay debts

bankrupt

adjective

Definition of bankrupt for English Language Learners

: unable to pay debts
—used to say that someone or something completely lacks a good or desired quality

bankrupt

verb

Definition of bankrupt for English Language Learners

: to cause (a person, business, etc.) to be unable to pay debts : to make (someone or something) bankrupt

BANKRUPT Defined for Kids

bankrupt

adjective bank·rupt \ ˈbaŋk-ˌrəpt \

Definition of bankrupt for Students

: not having enough money to pay debts

bankrupt

verb

Definition of bankrupt for Students

bankrupted; bankrupting

: to cause to not have enough money to pay debts That last risky deal bankrupted the company.

bankrupt

noun

Definition of bankrupt for Students

: a person or business that does not have enough money to pay debts

Law Dictionary

bankrupt

noun bank·rupt \ ˈbaŋ-ˌkrəpt \

legal Definition of bankrupt

: a debtor (as an individual or organization) whose property is subject to administration under the bankruptcy laws for the benefit of the debtor's creditors

was adjudicated a bankrupt

— see also debtor

bankrupt

adjective

legal Definition of bankrupt

: ruined financially; especially : judicially declared a bankrupt

the company is bankrupt

— compare insolvent

bankrupt

transitive verb

legal Definition of bankrupt

: to reduce to bankruptcy

was bankrupted by attorney's fees

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bankrupt

Definition of bankrupt

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bankrupt

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bankrupt

Definition of bankrupt

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bankrupt Synonyms

Synonyms

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Synonym Discussion of bankrupt

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Definition of bankrupt for English Language Learners

bankrupt

Definition of bankrupt for English Language Learners

bankrupt

Definition of bankrupt for English Language Learners

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Law Dictionary

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legal Definition of bankrupt

bankrupt

legal Definition of bankrupt

bankrupt

legal Definition of bankrupt

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