kaput

adjective

kə-ˈpu̇t How to pronounce kaput (audio)
variants also kaputt
Definition of kaputnext
1
as in done
facing certain defeat, disaster, or death once the Germans were forced to retreat from Stalingrad, the Nazi cause was kaput

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2
as in obsolete
having passed its time of use or usefulness hard-line Soviet-style Communism became kaput in Russia

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in malfunctioning
not being in working order the heating system went kaput on the coldest day of the year

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of kaput But with the continuing demand for sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, executive cruisers and road trip comfort mobiles are largely kaput. — James Raia, Mercury News, 26 July 2026 Her campaign was supposedly kaput. — Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026 Gunn tells Deadline, that The Authority is not kaput. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 27 Sep. 2025 Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton, seems adamant that the OG Yellowstone is kaput. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2024 Now all three of those competitors are kaput, felled by runs on deposits during the biggest banking crisis in a decade and a half. — Rob Copeland, New York Times, 14 June 2023 The Stooges are now functionally kaput—of the original lineup, only Pop is left. — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2019 At least not on Sunday afternoon, nearly a full two days after the Clippers were supposed to be done, finished, as kaput as the Kings – those in Sacramento and Los Angeles. — Jeff Miller, Orange County Register, 29 Apr. 2017 The damages for that less-than-brilliant marketing idea could be as much as $120 million, meaning the company as a whole is pretty much financially kaput. — Susan Arendt, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2007
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kaput
  1. doomed
  2. obsolete
  3. malfunctioning
  4. ruined
  5. archaic
  6. down
  7. sunk
  8. antiquated
Adjective
  • Joe and Nathan’s doomed bromance started off tense, got better over time, and worsened again once Joe found another bro to romance with.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The Navatek Method Before Kao’s doomed reign as CEO, Navatek was a sleepy Hawaiian engineering company with a few dozen employees.
    — William Turton, ProPublica, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of doomed
Adjective
  • Yet most security programs follow a model that AI has made obsolete.
    — Taylor Morgan, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the rise of artificial intelligence has also sparked growing fears that a traditional four-year college education will become obsolete.
    — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of obsolete
Adjective
  • Homeowners reported a swift meeting at which officers discussed a reorganization of their specific duties and the hiring of an elevator expert to fix the chronically malfunctioning, overloaded elevators.
    — Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Watching the first episode of Ultimate Girl’s Trip is like riding in a malfunctioning time machine.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of malfunctioning
Adjective
  • Sitting on the rim of his consciousness was always cataclysm, the muted whisper of a ruined world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Definition of ruined
Adjective
  • Cornell University’s investigation, of course, did not have to adhere to New York’s arguably archaic criminal standards, but its response, too, has triggered anger and disbelief across airwaves and social media.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Not that Georgian masculinity, with its macho, bellicose posturing and archaic codes of honor, is portrayed as anything other than fumbling and futile.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of archaic
Adjective
  • College enrollments are down and tuition revenue has dropped, plunging many universities into the red, despite increasing their prices.
    — Reynald Fasciaux, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Skydance shares closed down about 7% in day two of trading Wednesday after a dip the day before, a second down session in a rocky NYSE debut for the merged company as investors started to weigh in.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of down
Adjective
  • The train is, of course, a classic example of the perennial perils of sunk costs; abandoning the line seems absurd (even to us) given how much money would be written off.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • In my experience, mid-market companies operate with leaner teams and cannot absorb the sunk costs of a multi-month implementation with room for scope creep, reworks and failures.
    — Prathamesh Bhingarde, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
Definition of sunk
Adjective
  • Adopting techniques from classic-Hollywood style, cinematographers dusted off antiquated equipment, using tungsten bulbs instead of LEDs to create the low-key contrasts typical of the genre.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Furthermore, its green monochrome display will likely feel antiquated once full-color waveguide tech matures.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of antiquated

Browse Nearby Words

kaolins
kaput
karakul
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Cite this Entry

“Kaput.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kaput. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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