noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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UK:/deɪˈbɑː.kəl/
UK:/dɛˈbɑː.kəl/
US:/dɪˈbɑ.kəl/
US:/dəˈbɑ.kəl/
US:/deɪˈbɑ.kəl/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɑːkəl
CMU ARPABET:D AH0 B AA1 K AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously, often with humiliating consequences.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: fiasco
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A breaking up of a natural dam, usually made of ice, by a river and the ensuing rush of water.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a sudden and violent collapse
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: fiasco
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: collapse
4
noun
Meaning 4
a sound defeat
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
From French débâcle, from débâcler (“to unbar; unleash”) from prefix dé- (“un-”) + bâcler (“to dash, bind, bar, block”) [perhaps from unattested Middle French and Old French *bâcler, *bacler (“to hold in place, prop a door or window open”)], from Vulgar Latin *bacculare, from Latin baculum (“rod, staff used for support”), from Proto-Indo-European *bak-. Also attested in Old French desbacler (“to clear a harbour by getting ships unloaded to make room for incoming ships with lading”) and in Occitan baclar (“to close”). The hypothesised derivation from Middle Dutch *bakkelen (“to freeze artificially, lock in place”), a frequentative of bakken (“to stick, stick hard, glue together”) no longer seems likely due to the lack of attestation of *bakkelen in Middle Dutch and by it having the limited meaning of "freeze superficially" in Dutch.
Across languages
Translations
44 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
فَشَل ذَرِيْع
(fašal ḏariyʕ)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Arabic:
كارِثة
(kāriṯa)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Czech:
debakl
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Dutch:
verplettering
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Dutch:
fiasco
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Dutch:
debacle
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Esperanto:
fiasko
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Esperanto:
fuŝafero
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Finnish:
fiasko
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Finnish:
epäonnistuminen
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
French:
fiasco
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
French:
débâcle
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
German:
Debakel
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Ancient Greek:
διατροπή
(diatropḗ)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Hungarian:
fiaskó
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Hungarian:
kudarc
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Hungarian:
bukás
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Hungarian:
összeomlás
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Hungarian:
összeroppanás
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Italian:
fiasco
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Japanese:
大失敗
(daishippai)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Latvian:
izgāšanās
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Māori:
hanepītanga
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Polish:
obsuwa
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Polish:
wtopa
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Portuguese:
fiasco
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Russian:
фиа́ско
(fiásko)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Russian:
прова́л
(provál)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Spanish:
debacle
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Spanish:
desastre
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Swedish:
debacle
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Turkish:
hezimet
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Turkish:
fiyasko
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Ukrainian:
крах
(krax)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Ukrainian:
фіаско
(fiasko)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Ukrainian:
катастрофа
(katastrofa)
— event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously
Finnish:
laukeaminen
— break up of a natural dam
French:
débâcle
— break up of a natural dam
Italian:
frantumazione
— break up of a natural dam
Norwegian Bokmål:
isgang
— break up of a natural dam
Norwegian Nynorsk:
isgang
— break up of a natural dam
Russian:
ледохо́д
(ledoxód)
— break up of a natural dam
Russian:
вскры́тие реки́
(vskrýtije rekí)
— break up of a natural dam
Ukrainian:
скресання
(skresannja)
— break up of a natural dam
