wreak
Americanverb (used with object)
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wreaks,
present (3rd person singular)
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wreaked,
past participle, past
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wreaking
present participle
idioms
verb
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to inflict (vengeance, etc) or to cause (chaos, etc)
to wreak havoc on the enemy
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to express, or gratify (anger, hatred, etc)
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archaic to take vengeance for
Usage
What’s the difference between wreak and reek? Wreak means to inflict or carry out something, especially something harmful—it’s most commonly used in the phrase wreak havoc, meaning to cause chaos or destruction or both. Reek most commonly means to give off a strong, unpleasant odor, as in Your socks reek, dude. While wreak is only ever used as a verb, reek can also be used as a noun meaning a strong, unpleasant smell, though this use is much less common. Wreak is always used with an object, usually some negative effect, as in The storm is expected to wreak destruction throughout the region. Reek usually functions without an object, though in some cases it is followed by the word of and the particular smell, as in It reeks of onions in here. This is also the case when reek is used in a more figurative way meaning to be penetrated or saturated with something negative, as in This case reeks of corruption. Wreak and reek are pronounced exactly the same, so it can be hard to remember which one is which, but you can remember that wreak begins with a w because it is often used in the context of things getting wrecked. Here’s an example of wreak and reek used correctly in the same sentence. Example: I like cooking with leeks, but my wife thinks they reek and says they wreak havoc on her ability to smell anything else. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between reeking and wreaking.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wreaksimple
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wreakssimple
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have wreakedperfect
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has wreakedperfect
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am wreakingprogressive
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are wreakingprogressive
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is wreakingprogressive
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have been wreakingperfect progressive
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has been wreakingperfect progressive
Past
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wreakedsimple
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had wreakedperfect
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was wreakingprogressive
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were wreakingprogressive
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had been wreakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wreak
First recorded before 900; Middle English wreken, Old English wrecan; cognate with German rächen “to avenge,” Old Norse reka “to drive, avenge,” Gothic wrikan “to persecute”; akin to Latin urgēre “to drive, push”
Explanation
To wreak is to cause something to happen, usually with a terrible consequence. You can make mischief, cause problems, or inflict pain, but to wreak damage suggests a deeper level of destruction. Wreak stems from the Old English wrecan, meaning "to avenge." Its current meaning, that of causing something to happen — usually with dire consequences — came about in the 19th century. The word is a transitive verb, often paired with the equally intense havoc, meaning "devastation."
Vocabulary lists containing wreak
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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The Westing Game
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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.
See Examples For:
Rangers had really only started to wreak their havoc.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
“They can escape from the internet and wreak havoc,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
That said, one hacker can wreak no small amount of havoc, as one compromised water system might serve tens of thousands of people.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
Such a prolonged period of higher-than-normal ocean temperatures can wreak havoc on wildlife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Researchers had previously noted the temporal coincidence between the paleo-Indians’ arrival and the mass extinction, but they didn’t believe that small bands of hunters could wreak such ecological havoc.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
This year's Pacific hurricane season is shaping up as more severe than usual, as a Super El Nino wreaks devastation across Central America, bringing historic droughts and flooding.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
Along with the other confusion, the storm wreaks logistical havoc, too.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Extended weightlessness generally wreaks havoc on the human body, often disrupting the space traveler’s heartbeat, balance and hormone levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
Their exposure often wreaks personal and professional harm on their students, whose associations with a now-tainted mentor can jeopardize their academic careers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2025
What strife, what tempest, wreaks its wrath in vain?
From Elias An Epic of the Ages by Orson F. Whitney
Dominic Calvert-Lewin wreaked havoc as Leeds United moved up to third place in the Premier League table following a 4-1 win against Newcastle United at Elland Road.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
The January 2025 wildfires that swept through Pacific Palisades wreaked devastation practically beyond belief, destroying more than 5,600 homes and businesses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The shock has wreaked havoc with Florida-based Mosaic, the dominant publicly listed phosphate producer.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Windy conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier wreaked havoc with Sabalenka's powerful hitting and the Belarusian committed 57 unforced errors.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
During the winter of 1780-1781, the seven-hundred-man Virginia militia wreaked destruction again in the Cherokee Nation.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
That’s not to say all is flopping now for Zaslav and team: “Wuthering Heights” and Evil Dead Burn did pretty well, and the upcoming Dune: Part Three is already wreaking box-office havoc.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
Plus, Kevin Warsh is putting a September rate hike in play, and the strongest El Niño in a generation is wreaking havoc on the global economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
And right now there is no cure for a disease that is wreaking sheer havoc in the lives of more than 176 million women globally, according to Endometriosis UK.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
Yerson Granados used to fish off Colombia's Caribbean coast for a living, but when he discovered the havoc he was wreaking on coral reefs, he changed his ways.
From Barron's ● May 7, 2026
The storms always raged across Florida, wreaking havoc, and then died somewhere overland or in the Gulf.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
