quebrar

to break, to shatter

verb keh-BRAHR Rare

Origin: Latin crepare (to crack, to creak), via Vulgar Latin

Also means

to go bankrupt

Usage Note

Quebrar is a stem-changing verb (e→ie: quiebra, quiebras). In everyday speech it means to break or snap something brittle; in business and legal Spanish, quebrar means to go bankrupt — la empresa quebró (the company went bankrupt). The noun quiebra (bankruptcy, crack) captures both senses, and declararse en quiebra means to file for bankruptcy.

Examples

"La empresa quebró por falta de financiamiento."

Natural Translation

The company went bankrupt due to lack of funding.

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