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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

broke.

Financially ruined, bankrupt.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈbɹəʊ̯k/Received-Pronunciation/bɹɒk/Northumbria/ˈbɹoʊ̯k/Canada, General-American/ˈbɹɔʊ̯k/Canada, General-American
  1. Financially ruined, bankrupt.

    informal · not-comparable · usually
    He was broke after spending all his money into video games.
  2. Without any money, penniless.

    informal · not-comparable · usually
    dead broke; flat broke
  3. Broken.

    archaic · informal · not-comparable · usually
    If it ain’t broke, don't fix it.
  4. Demoted, deprived of a commission.

    not-comparable · usually
    He was broke and rendered unfit to serve His Majesty at sea.
Where this word comes from

Ablauted form of break.

noun/ˈbɹəʊ̯k/Received-Pronunciation/bɹɒk/Northumbria/ˈbɹoʊ̯k/Canada, General-American/ˈbɹɔʊ̯k/Canada, General-American
  1. Paper or board that is discarded and repulped during the manufacturing process.

  2. A fragment, remains, a piece broken off.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English broce, from Old English gebroc (“fragment”), from brecan (“to break”). Compare broken, past participle of break. Compare also Scots brock (“a scrap of meat or bread”).

verb/ˈbɹəʊ̯k/Received-Pronunciation/bɹɒk/Northumbria/ˈbɹoʊ̯k/Canada, General-American/ˈbɹɔʊ̯k/Canada, General-American
  1. To act as a broker; to transact business for another; synonym of broker.

    Agents broking with various other carriers can offer additional options.
  2. To act as procurer in love matters; to pimp.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Back-formation from broker.

adj/ˈbɹəʊ̯k/Received-Pronunciation/bɹɒk/Northumbria/ˈbɹoʊ̯k/Canada, General-American/ˈbɹɔʊ̯k/Canada, General-American
  1. Broke off, rich, wealthy

    slang
Where this word comes from

Clipping of broke off.

verb/ˈbɹəʊ̯k/Received-Pronunciation/bɹɒk/Northumbria/ˈbɹoʊ̯k/Canada, General-American/ˈbɹɔʊ̯k/Canada, General-American
  1. simple past of break

    form-of · past
  2. past participle of break

    archaic · form-of · nonstandard · participle · past · poetic
Where this word comes from

Ablauted form of break.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.