wreckage

[rek-ij]

noun

1. act of wrecking; wrecking; state of being wrecked.

2. remains or fragments of something that has been wrecked.

   They searched the wreckage for survivors.

wreckage

/ ˈrɛkɪdʒ /

noun

1. same as wreck

2. the act of wrecking or the state of being wrecked; ruin or destruction

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreckage¹

First recorded in 1830–40; wreck + -age

Example Sentences

There are "no signs of life" under the wreckage of a collapsed Indonesian school where 59 people are still missing, rescuers have said.

From BBC

From the Piccins’ property in wine country to foothills below the Sierra Nevada to canyons overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the wreckage stubbornly resists recovery.

From Los Angeles Times

The bodies of the two children, aged four and six, and their parents were later recovered from the wreckage.

From BBC

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded near 100 N. Chicago St. to a multi-vehicle crash and found one person trapped in the wreckage.

From Los Angeles Times

When he moved from New York to L.A., he started over, but he did keep a coffee table made from the wreckage of Hurricane Sandy.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• debris 
• rubble 
• wreck