bankruptcy

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountablelegalbusiness

   A legal process in which a court takes control of a person's or business's finances because they cannot pay their debts.

   Grammar: Can be countable (a bankruptcy, several bankruptcies) or uncountable (file for bankruptcy). Often used with the verbs file, declare, or go into.

   Patterns

   • file for bankruptcy
   • declare bankruptcy
   • go into bankruptcy
   • a bankruptcy filing

   The company filed for bankruptcy after sales fell sharply.

   She had to declare bankruptcy when she could not repay her loans.

   The store's bankruptcy left many employees without jobs.

2. 2noununcountablefigurative

   A complete lack of a good quality, such as ideas or morals.

   Grammar: Uncountable in this figurative sense: a bankruptcy of ideas. Often followed by of.

   Patterns

   • a bankruptcy of something
   • moral bankruptcy
   • intellectual bankruptcy

   The report revealed a bankruptcy of leadership in the organization.

   Critics spoke of the moral bankruptcy of the regime.

Word forms

Common combinations

file for bankruptcy

The airline decided to file for bankruptcy protection.

declare bankruptcy

He declared bankruptcy after his business failed.

go into bankruptcy

The chain went into bankruptcy last year.

bankruptcy proceedings

The bankruptcy proceedings lasted several months.

Synonyms and how they differ

insolvency

Insolvency is a formal term for being unable to pay debts; it can exist before any legal bankruptcy case begins.

failure

Failure can mean a business closing down, but it does not necessarily involve a court process as bankruptcy does.

Opposites

Word family

bankrupt adjective

Officially unable to pay debts.

bankrupt verb

To make someone unable to pay their debts.

Commonly confused: bankruptcy or bankrupt?

Practice

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