noun

bankruptcy

/ˈbæŋkrəptsi/ · say it: BANK·rup·see

legal status of being unable to repay debts

In more detail

1. (noun) a legal situation in which a person or company is unable to pay their debts and must give up their assets to creditors

2. (noun) a complete lack or failure of something

Examples

1. The company filed for bankruptcy after losing millions of dollars.
2. The government's bankruptcy of leadership during the crisis was evident.

How to use bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is used both as a legal term for formal insolvency proceedings (filed in court) and metaphorically to mean complete failure or exhaustion of something intangible (e.g., 'moral bankruptcy'). In legal contexts, it is formal and precise; in figurative use, it conveys severity and totality.

Common phrases

declare bankruptcy
file for bankruptcy
go bankrupt
personal bankruptcy
corporate bankruptcy
bankruptcy court

Synonyms

insolvency · financial failure · ruin · collapse

Opposites

solvency · prosperity

Word family

bankrupt (adjective/verb) · bankrupted (adjective) · bankrupting (verb) · bankrupt (noun)

A common mistake

Learners often use 'bankrupt' as a noun to refer to a person (e.g., 'he is a bankrupt') when the correct term is 'bankrupt person' or the adjective 'he is bankrupt'; 'bankrupt' as a noun is dated.

Learn it for good

Save this word in WordVale and it comes back for review right before you'd forget it — with pronunciation, real examples, and optional translations. One purchase, no subscription.

Get WordValeFREE 7-DAY TRIAL · iPHONE & iPAD