Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Law A person, business, or organization legally declared insolvent because of inability to pay debts.
- noun A person who is totally lacking in a specified resource or quality.
- adjective Having been legally declared insolvent.
- adjective Financially ruined; impoverished.
- adjective Depleted of valuable qualities or characteristics.
- adjective Totally depleted; destitute.
- adjective Being in a ruined state.
- transitive verb To cause to become financially bankrupt.
- transitive verb To ruin.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make insolvent; render unable to meet just claims.
- To reduce to beggary; exhaust the resources of.
- To become bankrupt; fail or become insolvent.
- noun The breaking up of a trader's business due to his inability to meet his obligations; bankruptcy.
- noun An insolvent person whose property is administered for, and distributed among, his creditors in accordance with the provisions of a system of laws called bankrupt, bankruptcy, or insolvent laws.
- noun In popular language, a hopelessly insolvent person; one who is notoriously unable to pay his debts; hence, one who is unable to satisfy just claims of any kind made upon him.
- In the state of one who has committed an act of bankruptcy, or is insolvent; subject to or under legal process because of insolvency.
- Unable to pay just debts, or to meet one's obligations; insolvent.
- Figuratively, at the end of one's resources: as, to be bankrupt in thanks.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To make bankrupt; to bring financial ruin upon; to impoverish.
- adjective Being a bankrupt or in a condition of bankruptcy; unable to pay, or legally discharged from paying, one's debts.
- adjective Depleted of money; not having the means of meeting pecuniary liabilities.
- adjective Relating to bankrupts and bankruptcy.
- adjective Destitute of, or wholly wanting (something once possessed, or something one should possess).
- adjective a law by which the property of a person who is unable or unwilling to pay his debts may be taken and distributed to his creditors, and by which a person who has made a full surrender of his property, and is free from fraud, may be discharged from the legal obligation of his debts. See
Insolvent , a. - noun (Old Eng. Law) A trader who secretes himself, or does certain other acts tending to defraud his creditors.
- noun A trader who becomes unable to pay his debts; an insolvent trader; popularly, any person who is unable to pay his debts; an insolvent person.
- noun (Law) A person who, in accordance with the terms of a law relating to bankruptcy, has been judicially declared to be unable to meet his liabilities.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective having been legally declared
insolvent . - verb transitive To force into
bankruptcy .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun someone who has insufficient assets to cover their debts
- adjective financially ruined
- verb reduce to bankruptcy
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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As this practice was very frequent in Italy, it is said the term bankrupt is derived from the Italian _banco_ rotto, broken bench.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 346, December 13, 1828 Various
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Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party which he described as bankrupt of new ideas and unfit to rule.
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"I think you're misunderstanding the word 'bankrupt,'" Romney replied.
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The Tax Day Tea Party protests began earlier this year when Rick Santelli, on-air editor for CNBC, ranted against what he called the bankrupt liberal agenda of the White House and Congress, a flawed stimulus bill and a pork-filled budget, according to the Tax Day Tea Party Web site.
unknown title 2009
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The state will go bankrupt from the lawsuits of those that were profiled because they "looked illegal".
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She is doing such a great job in bankrupt California that people should listen to her ...
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Right now, down the drain bankrupt sounds like a great plan for the major music labels because of their past actions.
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Ironically, Mike Griffin possesses the knowledge required, but with an arrogance and lack political savvy that has left us equally bankrupt from a leadership point of view.
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A small bank going bankrupt is just a small problem.
Matthew Yglesias » Dodd Bill Handles Too Big To Fail Well 2010
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Ho9w can it be when you can literally become bankrupt from a broken finger.
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