Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for wreck on Thesaurus.com any building, structure, or thing reduced to a state of ruin. wreckage , goods, etc., remaining above water after a shipwreck , especially when cast ashore.the ruin or destruction of a vessel in the course of navigation; shipwreck. a vessel in a state of ruin from disaster at sea, on rocks, etc. the ruin or destruction of anything: the wreck of one's hopes. a person of ruined health; someone in bad shape physically or mentally: The strain of his work left him a wreck. Show More
to cause the wreck of (a vessel); shipwreck. to involve in a wreck. to cause the ruin or destruction of: to wreck a car. to tear down; demolish: to wreck a building. to ruin or impair severely: Fast living wrecked their health. Show More
verb (used without object) to be involved in a wreck; become wrecked: The trains wrecked at the crossing. to act as a wrecker ; engage in wrecking . Show More
Origin of wreck 1200–50; (noun) Middle English wrec, wrech, wrek < Old Danish wrækæ wreck; (v.) late Middle English, derivative of the noun
Related forms un·wrecked , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for wreck devastation ,
crash ,
mess ,
ruin ,
hulk ,
debris ,
destruction ,
wreckage ,
debacle ,
collapse ,
shipwreck ,
wrack ,
impair ,
ravage ,
injure ,
cripple ,
trash ,
sabotage ,
vandalize ,
mar Examples from the Web for wreck Contemporary Examples of wreck None of this is to say that the wreck and salvage of the Costa Concordia should have received less attention.
It was a negligent accident that cost more than 30 lives, including a salvage diver who perished working on the wreck .
In the case of Flight 17 the wreck is already yielding a lot of information.
They finally made it to the rocks off the island near the wreck , where they waited until rescue workers and islanders found them.
The result of this wreck was 86 people dead and over 200 injuries.
Historical Examples of wreck There were so many ways in which the wreck might have gone out of life and left no sign.
As was said, the only soul who escaped alive off the wreck was Tom Chist.
On inquiry, he learned that it had come from a wreck in which there were several ladies.
And the battles which wreck ministers are waged round his name.
His first step was to restore discipline in the Chapter, which had all gone to wreck .
British Dictionary definitions for wreck to involve in or suffer disaster or destruction (tr) to cause the wreck of (a ship) Show More
the accidental destruction of a ship at sea the ship so destroyed maritime law goods cast ashore from a wrecked vessel a person or thing that has suffered ruin or dilapidation the remains of something that has been destroyed old-fashioned the act of wrecking or the state of being wrecked; ruin or destruction Show More
Word Origin for wreck C13: from Scandinavian; compare Icelandic rek. See wrack ², wreak
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for wreck n. early 13c., "goods cast ashore after a shipwreck, flotsam," from Anglo-French wrec , from Old Norse *wrek (cf. Norwegian, Icelandic rek ) "wreck, flotsam," related to reka "to drive, push" (see wreak ). The meaning "a shipwreck" is first recorded mid-15c.; that of "a wrecked ship" is from c.1500. General sense of "remains of anything that has been ruined" is recorded from 1713; applied by 1795 to dissipated persons.
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v. "to destroy, ruin," c.1500, from wreck (n.). Related: Wrecked ; wrecking . Earlier (12c.) it meant "drive out or away, remove;" also "take vengeance."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
