noun

1. a person legally declared unable to pay his or her debts: the property of a bankrupt is administered for the benefit of his or her creditors and divided among them
2. anyone unable to pay his or her debts
3. a person who lacks a certain quality or has failed completely in some way a political bankrupt

Etymology: Fr banqueroute < It banca rotta < banca, bench (see bank) + rotta, broken < L rupta, fem. pp. of rumpere, to break: see rupture

adjective

1. that is a bankrupt; insolvent
2. lacking in some quality; destitute morally bankrupt
3. that has failed completely a bankrupt foreign policy

transitive verb