kaput en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /kɑ-/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
- (Australia) audio
- /kəˈpʊt/ (Australia, Received-Pronunciation)
- (US) audio
- /-ˈput/ (General-American)
- /kəˈpɵt/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /kəˈpʊt/ (General-American)
- /kəˈpʉt/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
Etymology
Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap-? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput Proto-Italic *kaput Latin caput Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -ulum Latin capitulum Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin -āris Latin -āre Latin capitulāre? Late Latin cappa Old French cape Old French capote French capotbor. German kaputtbor. English kaput Borrowed from German kaputt (“broken, out of order”), from French capot (“to be without a trick in the card game Piquet”). Cognate to Dutch kapot. Doublet of capot and capote.
Meanings
-
(informal, not-comparable) Out of order; not working.
His career is kaput.
Many Trump voters, in other words, have had it. At this point, it seems safe to declare that the historic coalition that powered the president’s second reelection is finished—kaput.
2026 April 16, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Elaine Godfrey, “Trump Voters Are Over It”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:My car went kaput.
In the book, his conclusion is simple: capitalism is kaput, celebrity charity won’t plug holes, revolution is the only solution. Yet it also feels like a bit of a cop-out: he insists all this can be achieved through love, peace and understanding.
2014 October 11, Simon Hattenstone, “Russell Brand: ‘I want to address the alienation and despair’”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 01 Jul 2022:German propaganda loudspeaker: […] The Statue of Liberty is KAPUT. Captain Miller: "The Statue of Liberty is kaput" – huh, that's disconcerting.
1998, Saving Private Ryan (motion picture):Her marriage went kaput.
The vending machine is kaput.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| kaputt | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
screwed up · fuckered up · unfunctional · on the blink · bum · flaky · tore up · down · janky · broken · bung · out of order · out of gas · out of kilter · malfunctioning · broken-down · offline · munted · FUBAR · busted · out of commission · fucked · toes up · knackered · nonfunctional · bad · duff · jiggered · out of service · Donald Ducked · off one's feed · faulty · cactused · inoperative · on the fritz · nonoperational · tits up · out of sorts · dead · out of whack · kaput · broken · borked · out · crocked · stuffed
Translations (26)
fi kaput (out of order) · fr capout (out of order) · de kaputt (out of order) · ro stricat (out of order) · yi קאַפּוט (out of order) · ky өлүм (out of order) · th พัง (out of order) · fr en carafe (out of order) · fr en panne (out of order) · nb kaputt (out of order) · ky өлүү (out of order) · nn kaputt (out of order) · da kaput (out of order) · nl kapot (out of order) · ky куруп кетүү (out of order) · fr fini (out of order) · af kapoet (out of order) · th เจ๊ง (out of order) · ca caput (out of order) · ro distrus (out of order) · tr kaput (out of order) · ru капу́т (out of order) · sv kaputt (out of order) · ky жок болуу (out of order) · pt enguiçado (out of order) · pt pifado (out of order)