kaputt
9.9
A short shout people make when something is broken
- interjection
- /kəˈpʊt/
- Informal
:
kaput
- Und Poland, kaputt.
Examples
-
My phone is kaputt; it won't turn on anymore.
-
After the storm, the old fence was kaputt and needed to be replaced.
-
The car broke down on the highway; it's kaputt and can't be fixed.
Surface Forms
kaputt main
Etymology
Kaputt comes from German and before that the French word capot, which meant 'totally beaten' in a card game. People used it to say something was 'done for' or ruined, so it became a quick way to show that something stopped working. That is why you can shout 'kaputt' when a device or toy is broken.
