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:
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
They believe AI is too dangerous and releasing the underlying code would wreak havoc, and that AI models must instead be developed and released in a controlled fashion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
On the topic of vaccines that probably should be mandatory, measles continues to wreak havoc across the U.S., with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 2,134 confirmed cases this year.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned Friday that "anyone who sets out to wreak havoc on our streets, to intimidate or threaten anyone... can expect to face the full force of the law".
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
That night, the two elder boys crouched in a bush near the furthest field, waiting to see if anything would come back to wreak havoc.
From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith
Garin said earlier this week that the archipelago nation also planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
They won us over with their mild pomposity and aloofness, whereas Rapaport’s annoyance wreaks collateral damage like a chronically unbathed person’s odor assails bystanders.
From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2026
Participants say the air is thinner and the plunge downhill wreaks havoc on your body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2025
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
Men in love—and women also—may distrust all things and all creatures, but their own emotion, like the storm, proves the reality of its force by the mischief it wreaks.
From Robert Orange Being a Continuation of the History of Robert Orange by John Oliver Hobbes
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
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said in March that the import-dependent archipelago planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaked havoc with gas shipments.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Dart fought back from a set down to beat Liudmila Samsonova 5-7 6-4 6-3 in one of only three matches completed on Monday as the rain wreaked havoc with the schedule.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
A few days later, the conditions wreaked havoc on another No. 1, as Aryna Sabalenka was blown off course by swirling winds and lost in the quarterfinals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
The calamity wreaked by the De Soto expedition, Ramenofsky and Galloway argued, extended across the whole Southeast.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Meanwhile in Hubei province, at least two tornadoes have formed, wreaking havoc across cities.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
A surge in fuel prices is wreaking havoc on the industry, squeezing profits and pushing airfare higher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
And they were unaware, or unconcerned, that that chemical was wreaking havoc on the soil, weakening the trees’ defenses, leaving them extremely vulnerable to disease.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
Climate change is wreaking havoc on agriculture, bringing stronger storms, longer droughts, erratic rainfall and rising temperatures.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2026
During this time, just northwest of our village, a ferocious black rhino began wreaking terror across the land.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
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.
