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kaputz

An alternate spelling of 'kaput' — meaning broken, finished, dead, or completely done for.

ˈkæpətsDocumented since 1970s1970s2.1K viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
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Born ~1979 · no dated citations yet
1979BornToday, 2026
Boomer / counterculture eraSee decade cohort →

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#1·Apr 28, 2026

An alternate spelling of 'kaput' — meaning broken, finished, dead, or completely done for. Something that's kaputz has given up the ghost entirely: a phone with a cracked screen and no battery, a friendship that imploded, or a car that just won't start. The '-z' ending gives it a slightly more emphatic or comedic flavour, like you're really hammering home just how thoroughly wrecked the thing is. Used informally across English-speaking countries.

Tried to restart the router four times — it's totally kaputz.
Origin: Variant spelling of 'kaput', itself from German 'kaputt' meaning broken or destroyed. The '-z' ending is an informal stylistic flourish rather than a standard alternate form. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora (model-assisted, hedged).
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#2·Apr 27, 2026

(slang) Kaput.

For parents

"kaputz" means: Kaput.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.

For ESL learners

"kaputz" means: Kaput.. Register: informal slang, fine in casual conversation, texting and social media but not in academic essays, business writing or formal speech. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.

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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.

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