wrecker

American  

[rek-er] / ˈrɛk ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that wrecks.

2. a person, car, or train employed in removing wreckage, debris, etc., as from railroad tracks.

3. Also called tow car, tow truck.  a vehicle equipped with a mechanical apparatus for hoisting and pulling, used to tow wrecked, disabled, or stalled automobiles.

4. Also called housewrecker.  a person whose business it is to demolish and remove houses or other buildings, as in clearing sites for other use.

5. a person or vessel employed in recovering salvage from wrecked or disabled vessels.

6. a person who plunders wrecks, especially after exhibiting false signals in order to cause shipwrecks.

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wrecker British  

/ ˈrɛkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that ruins or destroys

2. a person whose job is to demolish buildings or dismantle cars

3. (formerly) a person who lures ships to destruction to plunder the wreckage

4. another word for tow truck

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Etymology

Origin of wrecker

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

Example Sentences

“Maxx remains on track to return during the offseason program and will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been these past seven seasons,” Crosby’s agent, CJ LaBoy, wrote on X.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

The wrecker service owner recalled moving the same crane a few years before and contacted its owner, who denied having given it away.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 18, 2022

Each truck requires its own wrecker and hooking up a wrecker to a truck takes about an hour, assuming the driver is present and co-operating.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2022

"He’s a game wrecker," Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick says of Watt, who was precisely that against the Ravens.

From Fox News • Dec. 8, 2021

Eliu squatted with a fresh beer, gazing down the hillside at the Body Shop and Pipe Queen buildings; the wrecker parked in front gleamed like a magical apparatus.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

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