wreck

[ rek ]

noun

1. any building, structure, or thing reduced to a state of ruin.
2. wreckage, goods, etc., remaining above water after a shipwreck, especially when cast ashore.
3. the ruin or destruction of a vessel in the course of navigation; shipwreck.
4. a vessel in a state of ruin from disaster at sea, on rocks, etc.
5. the ruin or destruction of anything:

   the wreck of one's hopes.

6. a person of ruined health; someone in bad shape physically or mentally:

   The strain of his work left him a wreck.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause the wreck of (a vessel); shipwreck.
2. to involve in a wreck.
3. to cause the ruin or destruction of:

   to wreck a car.

   Synonyms: shatter, devastate, destroy

4. to tear down; demolish:

   to wreck a building.

5. to ruin or impair severely:

   Fast living wrecked their health.

verb (used without object)

1. to be involved in a wreck; become wrecked:

   The trains wrecked at the crossing.

2. to act as a wrecker; engage in wrecking.

wreck

/ rɛk /

verb

1. to involve in or suffer disaster or destruction
2. tr to cause the wreck of (a ship)

noun

1. 1. the accidental destruction of a ship at sea
   2. the ship so destroyed
2. maritime law goods cast ashore from a wrecked vessel
3. a person or thing that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
4. the remains of something that has been destroyed
5. old-fashioned.
   the act of wrecking or the state of being wrecked; ruin or destruction

Other Words From

• un·wrecked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreck¹

First recorded in 1200–50; (noun) Middle English wrec, wrech, wrek, from Old Danish wrækæ “wreck”; (verb) late Middle English, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreck¹

C13: from Scandinavian; compare Icelandic rek. See wrack ², wreak

Synonym Study

See spoil.

Example Sentences

The wreck of one aircraft, thought to be a Catalina, was discovered in 2018 and is protected as a war grave.

From BBC

Trump's predictions of total victory are a stark contrast to his aides worrying that they hit a "total train wreck," per multiple reports across several media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal.

From Salon

The takeaway from his conversations, he said, was that the fall campaign had "been a total train wreck of a fall campaign for the Trump folks."

From Salon

Lalas has stuck with Donald Trump through the racist speeches, the felony convictions, the promises to jail generals and journalists, and the fiscal policies 16 Nobel-winning economists say will wreck the U.S. economy.

From Los Angeles Times

“Kamala Harris is a train wreck who has destroyed everything in her path,” Trump said in a speech at Madison Square Garden in New York City last week.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• batter
• decimate
• demolish
• destroy
• devastate
• impair
• injure
• mangle
• mar
• ravage
• raze
• ruin
• sabotage
• shatter
• sink
• smash
• spoil
• torpedo
• trash
• undermine