insolvent

UK/ɪnˈsɒɫv.ənt/US/ɪnˈsɑːɫv.ənt/

adjectiveC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,452 of 15,258leans written

Insolvent means owing more than you own. Declared insolvent, technically insolvent, an insolvent company.

There are two tests and a company can fail either: it cannot pay its debts as they fall due, or its liabilities exceed its assets. Trading while insolvent is an offence for directors in many countries, which is why the word matters so much in business.

Definitions of insolvent

1adjectiveinsolventOwing more than you own.C1
“When the bank refused another loan, the owners realised the shop was insolvent.”

insolvent is a financial state.

Where it comes from

Latin
solventem
French
solvent
English
solvent
English, today
insolvent

From in- + solvent. solvent comes from French solvent, from Latin solventem, accusative singular of solvens, present participle of solvō. by surface analysis, solv(e) + solve + ent.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Business & Money

Practise this word

insolvent in the wild

An insolvent insurance company does not pay a policy obligation.
Credit risk
An insolvent bank will not return funds to a depositor.
Credit risk
The thrift deposit insurer, the FSLIC, was unable to pay for all these failures and became insolvent.
Savings and loan crisis
A company that is balance-sheet insolvent may still have enough cash to pay its next bill on time.
Insolvency
The term "cash-flow insolvent" carries a strong (but perhaps not absolute) connotation that the debtor is balance-sheet solvent, whereas the term "actually insolvent" does not.
Insolvency

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the solvent family

solvent

insolvent — used about once every 54,060 pages · #14,452 · point at the bar for the others

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