bankrupt

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbæŋk.ɹəpt/ See IPA manual

Freq #8236

Meanings

1

adj
Unable to pay your debts, and officially declared so by a court.

The company went bankrupt after losing its biggest customer.
2

verb
To make a person or company lose all their money.

The failed investment nearly bankrupted the entire family.
3

noun
A person who has been officially declared unable to pay their debts.

As a bankrupt, he was not allowed to run a business for several years.
4

adj
Completely lacking a good quality you should have.

Voters saw the regime as morally bankrupt.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · unable to pay your debts,... broke insolvent ruined

2 verb · to make a person or company... break ruin

3 noun · a person who has been... insolvent

Word family

Forms bankruptedbankruptingbankrupts

Derived forms bankruptcybankrupteebankrupterbankruptismbankruptlikebankruptlybankruptnessbankruptshipnonbankruptrebankruptunbankruptunbankrupted

Related forms defunct illiquid insolvent

Etymology

Partial calque of Italian bancarotta (literally “a broken bench”), from banca (“bank”, literally “bench”) + rotta (“broken, rupted”), which refers to an out-of-business bank, having its bench physically broken, signifying that the working moneylender was insolvent.

*Hrewp- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# bankrupt

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj, verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbæŋk.ɹəpt/
**Frequency rank:** 8236

## Meanings
1. Unable to pay your debts, and officially declared so by a court.
2. To make a person or company lose all their money.
3. A person who has been officially declared unable to pay their debts.
4. Completely lacking a good quality you should have.

## Examples
- The company went bankrupt after losing its biggest customer.
- The failed investment nearly bankrupted the entire family.
- As a bankrupt, he was not allowed to run a business for several years.
- Voters saw the regime as morally bankrupt.

## Derived Forms
- bankruptcy
- bankruptee
- bankrupter
- bankruptism
- bankruptlike
- bankruptly
- bankruptness
- bankruptship
- nonbankrupt
- rebankrupt
- unbankrupt
- unbankrupted

## Related Forms
- defunct
- illiquid
- insolvent

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *Hrewp-

## Etymology
Partial calque of Italian bancarotta (literally “a broken bench”), from banca (“bank”, literally “bench”) + rotta (“broken, rupted”), which refers to an out-of-business bank, having its bench physically broken, signifying that the working moneylender was insolvent.

## AI Etymology
Bankrupt is a partial calque of Italian bancarotta (literally “a broken bench”), from banca (“bank”, literally “bench”) + rotta (“broken, rupted”), which refers to an out-of-business bank, having its bench physically broken, signifying that the working moneylender was insolvent.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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