train wreck

American  

[trein-rek] / ˈtrɛɪnˌrɛk /

Or trainwreck

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.

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train wreck British  

noun

1. an incident in which a train is severely damaged

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

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Etymology

Origin of train wreck

First recorded in 1870–75

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

train wreck

Douglas Keeve’s sublime 1995 documentary, “Unzipped,” follows Mizrahi in the aftermath of a train wreck, piecing his reputation back together with his next collection, attempting to make something beautiful from the rubble.

From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026

“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

I have mouse-brown cowlick-y hair, glasses that are about an inch thick, and braces that look like I tried to swallow a train wreck.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

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