train wreck
Americannoun
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an accident in which a train or trains are severely damaged.
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Slang. a person who has experienced a personal failure, disaster, etc.
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Slang. a disastrous situation, occurrence, or process.
His football career has been a train wreck.
noun
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an incident in which a train is severely damaged
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informal something or someone that has suffered ruin or calamity
Etymology
Origin of train wreck
First recorded in 1870–75
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.
“This was a train wreck waiting to happen,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military-intelligence official and a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank in Tel Aviv.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
Instead, the so-called autopsy was a shambolic train wreck of missing paragraphs, factual errors, and apparent plagiarism.
From Slate • May 23, 2026
A scenario where the crucial Persian Gulf waterway remains mostly closed through the end of August would further deplete global Brent crude supplies and increase the odds of a “2008 train wreck scenario.”
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
The challenge is that this is the train wreck you can see coming.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Where do I even begin with chronicling this train wreck?
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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.
