bankrupt

 
Pronunciation: /ˈbaŋkrʌpt/

adjective

  • 1(of a person or organization) declared in law as unable to pay their debts: his father went bankrupt and the family had to sell their home
  • impoverished or depleted: a bankrupt country with no natural resources
  • 2completely lacking in a particular good quality: their cause is morally bankrupt

noun

  • a person judged by a court to be insolvent, whose property is taken and disposed of for the benefit of their creditors.

verb

[with object]
  • reduce (a person or organization) to bankruptcy: the strike nearly bankrupted the union

Origin:

mid 16th century: from Italian banca rotta 'broken bench', from banca (see bank2) and rompere 'to break'. The change in the ending was due to association with Latin rupt- 'broken'