bankrupt — unable to pay debts; completely lacking in a particular quality
Part of speech: ADJECTIVE
Definition: unable to pay debts; completely lacking in a particular quality
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈbæŋkrʌpt/
Example Sentences
- After buying 100 lottery tickets every day, Jim went bankrupt faster than a melting ice cream.
- The restaurant was financially bankrupt but rich in terrible reviews.
- Many small businesses went bankrupt during the economic crisis.
bankrupt
ADJECTIVE[/ˈbæŋkrʌpt/]
unable to pay debts; completely lacking in a particular quality
He built it for twenty years — going bankrupt took it in twenty days.
See the bankrupt — going bankrupt is plain to see.
Going bankrupt hits abrupt — no warning, no way to interrupt.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
The word originates from 16th-century Italian merchant terminology. When merchants became insolvent, they would physically break their trading table (banco) as a public sign that they could no longer conduct business, giving rise to the term bancorotto, which evolved into the English 'bankrupt'.
Breakdown
banco (bench, trading table) + rotto (broken) = bancorotto, literally 'broken bench,' referring to the practice of destroying a merchant's table to signify financial failure.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“After buying 100 lottery tickets every day, Jim went bankrupt faster than a melting ice cream.”
“The restaurant was financially bankrupt but rich in terrible reviews.”
“Many small businesses went bankrupt during the economic crisis.”
“His ideas were intellectually bankrupt and offered no real solutions.”
📚Related Words
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