bank·rupt
ˈbaŋk-(ˌ)rəpt 
1
a
: a debtor (such as an individual or an organization) whose property is subject to voluntary or involuntary administration under the bankruptcy laws for the benefit of the debtor's creditors
b
: a person who becomes insolvent
2
: a person who is completely lacking in a particular desirable quality or attribute
a moral bankrupt
1
a
: reduced to a state of financial ruin : impoverished
specifically
: legally declared bankrupt
the company went bankrupt
b
: of or relating to bankrupts or bankruptcy
bankrupt laws
bankrupted; bankrupting; bankrupts
1
: to reduce to bankruptcy
2
: impoverish
defections had bankrupted the party of its brainpower
Examples of bankrupt in a Sentence
Noun
As a lawyer, she specialized in working with bankrupts.
Adjective
The lawsuit could leave them bankrupt.
the company's product development team was bankrupt of ideas
Verb
Several risky deals bankrupted the company.
several bad investments bankrupted him
Recent Examples on the Web
Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
The expectation is set early in the series, when an alderman who tries to swindle George bankrupts himself in the process, then kills himself in shame.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 24 June 2025
Andrew Leahey, Forbes.com, 20 July 2025
There’s something exquisitely derailing about spiraling into a plush-toy addiction while emotionally regressing at your mother’s house in Chiang Mai—jet-lagged across three time zones, spiritually bankrupt, and one herbal compress away from a full breakdown.
—Lara Johnson-Wheeler, Vogue, 31 May 2025
Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 24 July 2025
Here, DeMonaco teases more interesting ideas about how the greed of older people has bankrupted current and future inhabitants of this fragile planet.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bankrupt
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Noun
The fight almost bankrupts the town of Shelby, Montana, which borrowed heavily to stage it.
1930 — Helen Wills Moody wins her fourth straight singles title at Wimbledon with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Elizabeth Ryan.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
The expectation is set early in the series, when an alderman who tries to swindle George bankrupts himself in the process, then kills himself in shame.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 24 June 2025
Adjective
The myth of the millionaire on the move is politically useful but empirically bankrupt.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes.com, 20 July 2025
There’s something exquisitely derailing about spiraling into a plush-toy addiction while emotionally regressing at your mother’s house in Chiang Mai—jet-lagged across three time zones, spiritually bankrupt, and one herbal compress away from a full breakdown.
—Lara Johnson-Wheeler, Vogue, 31 May 2025
Verb
One of them failed ‒ a franchise of Dickey's Barbecue Pit, which also bankrupted many other franchisees.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 24 July 2025
Here, DeMonaco teases more interesting ideas about how the greed of older people has bankrupted current and future inhabitants of this fragile planet.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bankrupt
Cite this Entry
“Bankrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bankrupt. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bankrupt
1 of 3 noun
bank·rupt
ˈbaŋ-(ˌ)krəpt
: an individual or group who becomes bankrupt
especially
: one whose property by court order is turned over to be managed for the benefit of the creditors
bankrupt
2 of 3 adjective1
: unable to pay one's debts
2
: legally declared bankrupt
the company went bankrupt
bankrupt
3 of 3 verb
: to make bankrupt
Legal Definition
bankrupt
1 of 3 noun
bank·rupt
ˈbaŋ-ˌkrəpt
: a debtor (as an individual or organization) whose property is subject to administration under the bankruptcy laws for the benefit of the debtor's creditors
was adjudicated a bankrupt
see also debtor
bankrupt
2 of 3 adjective
: ruined financially
bankrupt
3 of 3 transitive verb
: to reduce to bankruptcy
was bankrupted by attorney's fees
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