wrecking
- the act, work, or business of a wrecker.
- employed or for use in wrecking: a wrecking crew.
Origin of wrecking
wreck
- 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.
- 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.
Origin of wreck
Synonyms for wreck
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for wrecking
breaking, bashing, smashing, splitting, shattering, ruining, battering, destructiveExamples from the Web for wrecking
Contemporary Examples of wrecking
In a country where stability is still fragile and requires careful tending, Ebola is a wrecking ball.
And what did Cyrus tell her hair-tossing protégée, besides “Return the wrecking ball NOW, lady”?
You come in like a wrecking ball Never hit so hard in love All I wanted was some breakfast, Daaad.
His first shows were in Asbury Park, at a small run down Convention Hall that appeared destined for the wrecking ball.
Tongues were wagging when Miley Cyrus released the R-rated video for her song “Wrecking Ball.”
Rob Ford, Kid President, What the Fox Say?, and More Viral VideosThe Daily Beast Video
December 29, 2013
Historical Examples of wrecking
They have found the books; they have understood them; and they are wrecking the place.
Roden's CornerHenry Seton Merriman
He shivered to think how near he had gone to wrecking all the happiness that lay ahead of him.
The Sea-HawkRaphael Sabatini
That is one of the points old Gladstone is wrecking the country on.
Ireland as It IsRobert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
Cannot you see, woman, that by this language you are wrecking your last hope of safety?
One Of ThemCharles James Lever
He was dressed in sheepskins, and, I believe, lived by wrecking.
The Bramleighs Of Bishop's FollyCharles James Lever
wreck
- to involve in or suffer disaster or destruction
- (tr) to cause the wreck of (a ship)
- 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
Word Origin for wreck
Word Origin and History for wrecking
wreck
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.
wreck
"to destroy, ruin," c.1500, from wreck (n.). Related: Wrecked; wrecking. Earlier (12c.) it meant "drive out or away, remove;" also "take vengeance."