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Definition of "broke" []

  • Past tense of break. (verb)
  • Nonstandard A past participle of break. (verb)
  • Informal Bankrupt. (adjective)
  • Informal Lacking funds: "Following the election, the Democrats were demoralized, discredited, and broke” ( Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.) (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "broke" in a sentence
  • "\ ''; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'Guess it isn\'t a catastrophe for a man with a guaranteed government paycheck and the best health care benefits your \'broke, broke, broke\' taxpayers\ 'dollar s can afford?"
  • "With "How Will I Know," Houston and the label broke through an implicit policy at MTV—a force in the industry at the time—which in effect limited the number of African-Americans and other minority artists in its rotation."
  • "Why would I …, Alek began, but then his expression broke into a smile."