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wrecker
[ rek-er ]
/ ˈrɛk ər /
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noun
a person or thing that wrecks.
a person, car, or train employed in removing wreckage, debris, etc., as from railroad tracks.
Also called tow car, tow truck. a vehicle equipped with a mechanical apparatus for hoisting and pulling, used to tow wrecked, disabled, or stalled automobiles.
Also called housewrecker. a person whose business it is to demolish and remove houses or other buildings, as in clearing sites for other use.
a person or vessel employed in recovering salvage from wrecked or disabled vessels.
a person who plunders wrecks, especially after exhibiting false signals in order to cause shipwrecks.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Words nearby wrecker
wreathed column, wreathy, wreck, wreckage, wrecked, wrecker, wrecker's ball, wreckfish, wreckful, wrecking, wrecking bar
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use wrecker in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for wrecker
wrecker
/ (ˈrɛkə) /
noun
a person or thing that ruins or destroys
mainly US and Canadian a person whose job is to demolish buildings or dismantle cars
(formerly) a person who lures ships to destruction to plunder the wreckage
US and Canadian another word for tow truck
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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