train wreck

Or train·wreck

[trein-rek]

noun

1. an accident in which a train or trains are severely damaged.

2. Slang.,  a person who has experienced a personal failure, disaster, etc.

3. Slang.,  a disastrous situation, occurrence, or process.

   His football career has been a train wreck.

train wreck

noun

1. an incident in which a train is severely damaged

2. informal,  something or someone that has suffered ruin or calamity

Word History and Origins

Origin of train wreck¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

"But once it's moving, it's like the train is racing downhill, impossible to stop. Ending it requires something dramatic -- basically, a train wreck."

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"Rather than shutting down all at once, the plate is ripping apart piece by piece, creating smaller microplates and new boundaries. So instead of a big train wreck, it's like watching a train slowly derail, one car at a time."

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Off the coast of Vancouver Island, in the Cascadia region, scientists have now seen that "train wreck" unfolding.

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Above all, we experience a pervasive miasma of helplessness as we are forced to watch this intolerable train wreck.

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“Afterglow” — which featured such addictive bops as “World on Fire” and “Train Wreck” — was made right as she started her journey as a mother.

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