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.
Off the coast of Vancouver Island, in the Cascadia region, scientists have now seen that "train wreck" unfolding.
From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2025
Above all, we experience a pervasive miasma of helplessness as we are forced to watch this intolerable train wreck.
From Salon • Sep. 20, 2025
Trump also posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday: "I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a train wreck over the past five weeks."
From BBC • Jul. 6, 2025
Later, Brandon Nimmo reached base on a train wreck of a defensive play by the Dodgers, allowing the Mets to score and take a 5-4 lead.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025
From everything he’d read in the papers, Kaira’s life was a train wreck.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
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.
