Language:
Free Online Dictionary|3Dict

bankrupt

Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Bankrupt \Bank"rupt\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Bankrupted}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Bankrupting}.]
   To make bankrupt; to bring financial ruin upon; to
   impoverish.

Bankrupt \Bank"rupt\, a.
   1. Being a bankrupt or in a condition of bankruptcy; unable
      to pay, or legally discharged from paying, one's debts;
      as, a bankrupt merchant.

   2. Depleted of money; not having the means of meeting
      pecuniary liabilities; as, a bankrupt treasury.

   3. Relating to bankrupts and bankruptcy.

   4. Destitute of, or wholly wanting (something once possessed,
      or something one should possess). ``Bankrupt in
      gratitude.'' --Sheridan.

   {Bankrupt law}, a law by which the property of a person who
      is unable or unwilling to pay his debts may be taken and
      distributed to his creditors, and by which a person who
      has made a full surrender of his property, and is free
      from fraud, may be discharged from the legal obligation of
      his debts. See {Insolvent}, a.

Bankrupt \Bank"rupt\, n. [F. banqueroute, fr. It. bancarotta
   bankruptcy; banca bank (fr. OHG. banch, G. bank, bench) +
   rotta broken, fr. L. ruptus, p. p. of rumpere to break. At
   Florence, it is said, the bankrupt had his bench ( i.e.,
   money table) broken. See 1st {Bank}, and {Rupture}, n.]
   1. (Old Eng. Low) A trader who secretes himself, or does
      certain other acts tending to defraud his creditors.
      --Blackstone.

   2. A trader who becomes unable to pay his debts; an insolvent
      trader; popularly, any person who is unable to pay his
      debts; an insolvent person. --M?Culloch.

   3. (Law) A person who, in accordance with the terms of a law
      relating to bankruptcy, has been judicially declared to be
      unable to meet his liabilities.

   Note: In England, until the year 1861 none but a ``trader''
         could be made a bankrupt; a non-trader failing to meet
         his liabilities being an ``insolvent''. But this
         distinction was abolished by the Bankruptcy Act of
         1861. The laws of 1841 and 1867 of the United States
         relating to bankruptcy applied this designation
         bankrupt to others besides those engaged in trade.

Source : WordNet®

bankrupt
     n : someone who has insufficient assets to cover their debts
         [syn: {insolvent}]
     v : reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going
         to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets
         smashed him" [syn: {ruin}, {break}, {smash}]

bankrupt
     adj : financially ruined; "a bankrupt company"; "the company went
           belly-up" [syn: {belly-up(p)}]
Sort by alphabet : A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z