bankrupt
pronunciation
How to pronounce bankrupt in British English:
UK [ˈbæŋkrʌpt]
How to pronounce bankrupt in American English:
US [ˈbæŋkrʌpt]
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- Noun:
- someone who has insufficient assets to cover their debts
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- Verb:
- reduce to bankruptcy
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- Adjective:
- financially ruined
Word Origin
- bankrupt (adj.)
- 1560s, from Italian banca rotta, literally "a broken bench," from banca "moneylender's shop," literally "bench" (see bank (n.1)) + rotta "broken, defeated, interrupted" from (and remodeled on) Latin rupta, fem. past participle of rumpere "to break" (see rupture (n.)). "[S]o called from the habit of breaking the bench of bankrupts" [Klein]. Earlier in English as a noun, "bankrupt person" (1530s).
- bankrupt (v.)
- 1550s, from bankrupt (adj.). Related: Bankrupted; bankrupting.
Example
- 1. They say the damages would almost bankrupt el universo .
- 2. Most big subprime lenders have gone bankrupt or left the business .
- 3. The generous payouts bankrupt some small companies .
- 4. Germany would not prosper in a bankrupt europe .
- 5. This would leave many thousands bankrupt .