Broke means having no money or very little money. When someone says “I'm broke,” they mean their wallet is empty and they can't afford to buy things they want or sometimes even things they need. A broke college student might survive on ramen noodles because that's all they can afford. A family that's broke might struggle to pay rent or buy groceries.

The word can describe a temporary situation (like being broke until your next allowance) or a longer struggle (like when someone loses their job and stays broke for months). It's different from being poor, which usually describes a more permanent condition. Someone might be broke this week because they spent all their money on a new bike, but they're not poor because more money is coming soon.

People also use broke as the past tense of break. If you dropped a plate and it shattered, you broke it. When something stops working, we say it's broken. You might say “My calculator broke during the math test” or “I accidentally broke my promise to help my friend.” The phrase “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” means to leave things alone when they're working fine.