bankrupt

bankrupt — adjective

1. not able to meet your debts, especially in a case handled under bankruptcy law

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

not able to meet your debts, especially in a case handled under bankruptcy law

Example

After three bad years, the family shop went bankrupt in March.

go bankrupt

By Friday, the airline was bankrupt and canceled all refunds.

Common collocations
  • go bankrupt
  • be declared bankrupt
  • bankrupt company
  • bankrupt businessman
  • bankrupt firm
Synonyms
  • insolvent

    is more formal and is especially common in legal and business writing

  • ruined

    is broader and can describe a person's whole life or situation, not just debt status

  • broke

    is informal and usually describes a person with no money, not a formal bankruptcy case

Antonyms
  • solvent

    means able to pay debts

  • profitable

    applies mainly to businesses that are making money rather than losing it

Grammar Patterns

go bankrupt

be declared bankrupt

a bankrupt company

Usage Note

Often appears after go, be, or declare, and is especially common for people, companies, and shops. Distinguish from sense 2, which is informal and simply means having no money at the moment, without the legal idea.

Common Mistakes

The shop bankrupted last year.
The shop went bankrupt last year.' / 'The losses bankrupted the shop.
as an adjective, bankrupt usually follows 'go' or 'be'; the verb needs a direct cause and object.

2. having no money left to spend

2.adjectiveC2
Definition

having no money left to spend

Example

By the end of the trip, we were bankrupt and eating plain rice.

informal: be bankrupt

After paying the hospital bill, Marta felt almost bankrupt.

Common collocations
  • feel bankrupt
  • almost bankrupt
  • leave someone bankrupt
  • go home bankrupt
Synonyms
  • broke

    is the most common informal word for having no money

  • penniless

    is stronger and suggests complete lack of money

  • hard up

    is informal British English for being short of money

Antonyms
  • well-off

    means having plenty of money

  • flush

    is informal and suggests having money available right now

Grammar Patterns

feel bankrupt

be almost bankrupt

leave someone bankrupt

Usage Note

Informal and often exaggerated in everyday speech for temporary lack of money. Distinguish from sense 1, which is the legal or business sense involving debts and formal bankruptcy.

Common Mistakes

I am bankrupt of cash today.
I am bankrupt today.' / 'I have no cash today.
this sense does not use 'of' before the money you lack.

3. lacking anything admirable, useful, or worthwhile

3.adjectiveC2
Definition

lacking anything admirable, useful, or worthwhile

Example

The judge called the scam a morally bankrupt business plan.

collocation: morally bankrupt

Many voters saw the speech as morally bankrupt and full of lies.

Common collocations
  • morally bankrupt
  • spiritually bankrupt
  • emotionally bankrupt
  • bankrupt argument
  • bankrupt leadership
Synonyms
  • empty

    suggests lack of real meaning, value, or feeling

  • hollow

    stresses that something may look strong outside but lacks substance inside

  • sterile

    often describes ideas or art that produce nothing lively or valuable

Antonyms
  • principled

    describes people or actions guided by strong moral standards

  • worthwhile

    describes something that has clear value or good purpose

Grammar Patterns

morally bankrupt

spiritually bankrupt

a bankrupt argument

Usage Note

Common with adverbs like morally, emotionally, intellectually, or spiritually, and often used for ideas, systems, or behaviour rather than money. Distinguish from sense 1, which is about debts and legal insolvency.

Common Mistakes

The company is bankrupt in morals.
The company is morally bankrupt.
this figurative sense usually takes an adverb such as 'morally' before 'bankrupt'.

bankrupt — noun

bankrupt — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

For adjective/1, bankrupt is the clearest word when debts cannot be paid and the situation may involve a formal legal process. Insolvent is close, but it is more technical and is especially common in legal, accounting, and business writing. Broke is much more informal and usually describes a person with little or no money, often temporarily, without any legal meaning. Ruined is broader still: a person, family, or company can be ruined financially, but the word can also describe emotional or social damage. A shop can go bankrupt after years of losses, an official report may call it insolvent, and a student after a trip is more likely to say, 'I'm broke.'

bankrupt ↗insolventbroke ↗ruined

Etymology

ItalianFrenchEnglish

Bankrupt reached English through French and Italian. The Italian source combined words meaning a money dealer's bench and broken. The image was of a lender or trader whose business had failed so completely that the bench of business was, in effect, broken. English later used the word for both the legal state of financial failure and, by extension, for people, ideas, or systems that seem empty of value.