wrecking

[ rek-ing ]

noun

1. the act, work, or business of a wrecker.

adjective

1. employed or for use in wrecking:

   a wrecking crew.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wrecking¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; wreck + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

So much of the District was burned in the riots of 1968, and even more of it has since been wrecking-balled into condo hell.

From Washington Post

The rental house could not have any shared spaces with outsiders, for safety reasons and for Mac, her 115-pound Bernese mountain dog and wrecking ball.

From Washington Post

Not until the wrecking crew came to Marshall’s monument and eventually the team name did Rivera change his tune.

From Washington Post

The Vision Fund was a wrecking ball, smashing into any company it chose with a big check and demands for rapid growth.

From TechCrunch

Earth’s magnetic field largely protects astronauts on the space station from these tiny wrecking balls, just as it protects folks on Earth.

From Science News For Students

In a country where stability is still fragile and requires careful tending, Ebola is a wrecking ball.

From The Daily Beast

And what did Cyrus tell her hair-tossing protégée, besides “Return the wrecking ball NOW, lady”?

From The Daily Beast

You come in like a wrecking ball  Never hit so hard in love  All I wanted was some breakfast, Daaad.

From The Daily Beast

His first shows were in Asbury Park, at a small run down Convention Hall that appeared destined for the wrecking ball.

From The Daily Beast

Tongues were wagging when Miley Cyrus released the R-rated video for her song “Wrecking Ball.”

From The Daily Beast

He himself had not the slightest intention of playing Lothario and of wrecking the peace of the Ducksmith household.

From Project Gutenberg

If I were to be the cause of breaking up your home, and wrecking Corydon's life, it would be more than I could bear.

From Project Gutenberg

She did not know that this new ardent confidence came near to wrecking her.

From Project Gutenberg

The conductor of our train had spotted me from seeing my pass, and I happened to hear him docketing me for the wrecking boss.

From Project Gutenberg

Pitt could not, therefore, make it a government measure without almost certainly wrecking his administration.

From Project Gutenberg