break the bank

verb

At a casino etc., to win all the money that is available to be paid.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbbreak the bank (third-person singular simple present breaks the bank, present participle breaking the bank, simple past broke the bank, past participle broken the bank)

present singular third person breaks the bank · participle present breaking the bank · past broke the bank · participle past broken the bank

  1. intransitiveAt a casino etc., to win all the money that is available to be paid.

    Or, similarly, consider the man determined to break the bank at Monte Carlo by studying the frequencies with which a certain roulette wheel lands in the red

    2001, Richard Swinburne, Epistemic Justification
  2. idiomaticintransitiveTo exhaust one's financial resources.

    Home Security Doesn't Have to Break the Bank

    2001, Tom Davidson, Lorna Gentry, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home Security

Translations

Catalan fer saltar la banca
  • fer saltar la bancawin all the money that is available to be paid
Chinese Mandarin 贏大錢 /赢大钱, 讓銀行倒閉 /让银行倒闭
  • 贏大錢 /赢大钱 (yíng dàqián)win all the money that is available to be paid
  • 讓銀行倒閉 /让银行倒闭 (ràng yínháng dǎobì)win all the money that is available to be paid
  • 耗費巨資 /耗费巨资 (hàofèi jùzī)exhaust one's financial resources
  • 破產 /破产 (pòchǎn)exhaust one's financial resources
  • 傾家蕩產 /倾家荡产 (qīngjiādàngchǎn)exhaust one's financial resources
Finnish räjäyttää pankki, tuhlata rahansa
  • räjäyttää pankkiwin all the money that is available to be paid
  • tuhlata rahansaexhaust one's financial resources
French faire sauter la banque, casser sa tirelire
  • faire sauter la banquewin all the money that is available to be paid
  • casser sa tirelireexhaust one's financial resources
German die Bank sprengen, den finanziellen Rahmen sprengen
  • die Bank sprengenwin all the money that is available to be paid
  • den finanziellen Rahmen sprengenexhaust one's financial resources
  • den finanziellen Spielraum übersteigenexhaust one's financial resources
Hungarian bankot robbant
  • bankot robbantwin all the money that is available to be paid
Italian far saltare il banco
  • far saltare il bancowin all the money that is available to be paid
Polish rozbijać bank, rozbić bank
  • rozbijać bankwin all the money that is available to be paid
  • rozbić bankwin all the money that is available to be paid
Russian сорва́ть банк, прогоре́ть
  • сорва́ть банк (sorvátʹ bank)win all the money that is available to be paid
  • прогоре́ть (progorétʹ)exhaust one's financial resources
  • вы́лететь в трубу́ (výletetʹ v trubú)exhaust one's financial resources
Spanish hacer saltar la banca, arruinarse
  • hacer saltar la bancawin all the money that is available to be paid
  • arruinarseexhaust one's financial resources
Cite this entry
APA

break the bank. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20the%20bank

MLA

“break the bank.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20the%20bank. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “break the bank,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20the%20bank.

Source: break the bank on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.