wrecker's ball
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of wrecker's ball
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70
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.
Many noteworthy buildings fell to the wrecker’s ball, but there are several architectural gems here.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2021
In some parts of the city, there are still buildings waiting for either the repairer’s scaffold or the wrecker’s ball.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2021
As demand for commercial property surges with a strengthening downtown economy, preservationists and the city authorities are searching for ways to defend the fabric of this historic city from the wrecker’s ball.
From New York Times ● Nov. 14, 2017
Homs may be an extreme case, but the reality is that vast stretches of Syria are now fit only for the wrecker’s ball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2016
The museum is located in the main room of an old schoolhouse that the local historical society saved from the wrecker's ball by having it declared an historical landmark.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
