wrecker

[ rek-er ]

/ ˈrɛk ər /

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See synonyms for: wrecker / wreckers on Thesaurus.com

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…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of wrecker

First recorded in 1795–1805; wreck + -er¹

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

We invented a trusted magical figure, turned him into a home wrecker, and pump those lyrics into the backseat all December long.
How Santa Hurts Christmas|Candida Moss|December 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“I remember these kids coming up to me and calling me a ‘home-wrecker,’” Cardellini told The Daily Beast.
‘Boy Meets World’ Turns 20: The Silly Show We Can’t Help but Love|Kevin Fallon|September 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I remember these kids coming up to me and calling me a “home-wrecker,” and so I had flashes of that going into my role on Mad Men.
Emmys 2013: Linda Cardellini on ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Freaks and Geeks,’ and More|Marlow Stern|August 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He had been a smuggler, a wrecker, a pirate; his hand was red with blood, his soul dark with the soil of crime.
The Cornwall Coast|Arthur L. Salmon

In some places even a wrecker's foot-path down the bank lasts several years.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 86, December, 1864|Various
No; the vital defect of The Wrecker must be set down to Mr. Stevenson's account.
Adventures in Criticism|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
It makes no difference whether Whitmore was a home-wrecker or a man of the utmost probity.
The Substitute Prisoner|Max Marcin
As our vessel was not noted for fast sailing, we accepted an invitation to go on board of a Wrecker.
Audubon and his Journals, Vol. 2|Maria R. Audubon

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

wrecker

Origin of wrecker

Words nearby wrecker

Words related to wrecker

How to use wrecker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wrecker