wreck
Americannoun
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wrecks
plural
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any building, structure, or thing reduced to a state of ruin.
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wreckage, goods, etc., remaining above water after a shipwreck, especially when cast ashore.
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the ruin or destruction of a vessel in the course of navigation; shipwreck.
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a vessel in a state of ruin from disaster at sea, on rocks, etc.
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the ruin or destruction of anything.
the wreck of one's hopes.
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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)
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wrecks,
present (3rd person singular)
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wrecked,
past participle, past
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wrecking
present participle
verb
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to involve in or suffer disaster or destruction
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(tr) to cause the wreck of (a ship)
noun
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the accidental destruction of a ship at sea
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the ship so destroyed
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maritime law goods cast ashore from a wrecked vessel
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a person or thing that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
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the remains of something that has been destroyed
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old-fashioned the act of wrecking or the state of being wrecked; ruin or destruction
Usage
What does wreck mean? To wreck something is to destroy, ruin, or severely damage it. It’s commonly used in the context of the destruction of physical objects, as in He wrecked the car when he hit the tree. Nonphysical things can also be wrecked, as in Tom’s poor planning wrecked his chances of finishing his homework in time to go to baseball practice. Wreck is also commonly used as a noun referring to something that has been destroyed or turned into a ruin, such as a building, as in All that was left of the house after the fire was a burnt wreck. Wreck is often used figuratively to describe a person who is in bad health or who is emotionally or mentally unwell, as in Stress reduces him to a nervous wreck. Wreck is also used in a more specific way to refer to sunken or destroyed ships, as in The diver went to the bottom of the sea to explore the wreck. The word shipwreck means the same thing. The word wreckage refers to the remains of something that has been wrecked. Example: I cried so much at the end of that movie that I was an emotional wreck for the rest of the day.
Synonym Usage
See spoil.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wrecksimple
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wreckssimple
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have wreckedperfect
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has wreckedperfect
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am wreckingprogressive
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are wreckingprogressive
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is wreckingprogressive
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have been wreckingperfect progressive
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has been wreckingperfect progressive
Past
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wreckedsimple
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had wreckedperfect
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was wreckingprogressive
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were wreckingprogressive
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had been wreckingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wreck
First recorded in 1200–50; (noun) Middle English wrec, wrech, wrek, from Old Danish wrækæ “wreck”; (verb) late Middle English, derivative of the noun
Explanation
A wreck is something that's been destroyed. Your hair might be a wreck after a bad day at the barber. Your car might be a wreck after you hit a telephone pole. Your house might be a wreck after a visit from 3-year-old twins. You might be an emotional wreck after a fight with your boyfriend. A sunken ship is a wreck, or a shipwreck. When you hit that telephone pole, you’ve had a wreck, and you can also call your mangled car a wreck. When you’re next heading out with the car keys, you mom might say, "Don't wreck the car!,” hoping you’ll bring it back in one piece.
Vocabulary lists containing wreck
"Return to Titanic" and "Talking with Robert Ballard"
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Other layers, however, may have been added along the north-eastern Adriatic coast, close to where the wreck was ultimately found.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
The wreck in the Danube was reportedly discovered on 2 August, when a passersby reported part of the motorcycle protruding from the rocks on the riverbank in downtown Budapest.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Divers’ primary tool was a vacuum-like system called a dredge, which sucked up sediment from inside the wreck and deposited it into baskets on the sea floor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The most egregious case is Sturgis’ Ru, who transforms over the course of the play from a jittery wreck into a vengeful, plaintive monster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
By this time, significant discoveries from the wreck were becoming increasingly rare.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Protected wrecks have legal protection, meaning that any disturbance or interference is only permitted under an official licence.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
For investors, it’s worth checking whether there might be some value in the wrecks and being wary of those sailing close to the wind.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
Their film wrecks audiences with its exploration of romantic intimacy, grief and the inner lives of artists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
But you’re going to see some tremendous train wrecks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
The storm looked worse than just a blow, maybe a city killer even, the way the clouds swirled and scattered lightning across the wrecks offshore.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
With a voice at times bitter, befuddled and bemused at his own wrecked life, Busby emerges as a self-aware, sympathetic survivor who knew his best work came at the beginning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
If its reigning dynasty is wrecked by loose bodies or a needle stuck in a left knee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Russell's judgement, to lift off just enough to satisfy the rules, but not so much that it wrecked his lap, was the difference between taking a much-needed pole and being fourth on the grid.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
I am still wrecked by it, and I understand why Grandpa said it was his trauma.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
Done carefully, you can align your money with your beliefs without obviously wrecking your retirement.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Rather, he yelled at them in a private meeting, complaining that by threatening to stop the war, they were wrecking his bargaining power in the ongoing peace talks.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
Meanwhile the Rams’ case as the preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl received a major boost by adding a future Hall of Famer capable of wrecking any offensive play.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
“I’m a wrecking ball to the status quo,” he said in one post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
“Without making it a disaster. You’re already wrecking the place.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
