wreck
Americannoun
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wrecks
plural
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any building, structure, or thing reduced to a state of ruin.
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wreckage, goods, etc., remaining above water after a shipwreck, especially when cast ashore.
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the ruin or destruction of a vessel in the course of navigation; shipwreck.
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a vessel in a state of ruin from disaster at sea, on rocks, etc.
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the ruin or destruction of anything.
the wreck of one's hopes.
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a person of ruined health; someone in bad shape physically or mentally.
The strain of his work left him a wreck.
verb (used with object)
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wrecks,
present (3rd person singular)
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wrecked,
past participle, past
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wrecking
present participle
verb
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to involve in or suffer disaster or destruction
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(tr) to cause the wreck of (a ship)
noun
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the accidental destruction of a ship at sea
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the ship so destroyed
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maritime law goods cast ashore from a wrecked vessel
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a person or thing that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
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the remains of something that has been destroyed
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old-fashioned the act of wrecking or the state of being wrecked; ruin or destruction
Usage
What does wreck mean? To wreck something is to destroy, ruin, or severely damage it. It’s commonly used in the context of the destruction of physical objects, as in He wrecked the car when he hit the tree. Nonphysical things can also be wrecked, as in Tom’s poor planning wrecked his chances of finishing his homework in time to go to baseball practice. Wreck is also commonly used as a noun referring to something that has been destroyed or turned into a ruin, such as a building, as in All that was left of the house after the fire was a burnt wreck. Wreck is often used figuratively to describe a person who is in bad health or who is emotionally or mentally unwell, as in Stress reduces him to a nervous wreck. Wreck is also used in a more specific way to refer to sunken or destroyed ships, as in The diver went to the bottom of the sea to explore the wreck. The word shipwreck means the same thing. The word wreckage refers to the remains of something that has been wrecked. Example: I cried so much at the end of that movie that I was an emotional wreck for the rest of the day.
Synonym Usage
See spoil.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wrecksimple
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wreckssimple
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have wreckedperfect
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has wreckedperfect
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am wreckingprogressive
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are wreckingprogressive
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is wreckingprogressive
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have been wreckingperfect progressive
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has been wreckingperfect progressive
Past
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wreckedsimple
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had wreckedperfect
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was wreckingprogressive
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were wreckingprogressive
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had been wreckingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wreck
First recorded in 1200–50; (noun) Middle English wrec, wrech, wrek, from Old Danish wrækæ “wreck”; (verb) late Middle English, derivative of the noun
Explanation
A wreck is something that's been destroyed. Your hair might be a wreck after a bad day at the barber. Your car might be a wreck after you hit a telephone pole. Your house might be a wreck after a visit from 3-year-old twins. You might be an emotional wreck after a fight with your boyfriend. A sunken ship is a wreck, or a shipwreck. When you hit that telephone pole, you’ve had a wreck, and you can also call your mangled car a wreck. When you’re next heading out with the car keys, you mom might say, "Don't wreck the car!,” hoping you’ll bring it back in one piece.
Vocabulary lists containing wreck
"Return to Titanic" and "Talking with Robert Ballard"
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
See Examples For:
However, it said the Norwich City wreck may lend credence to the researchers' theory.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Coissac said he had spoken to one survivor of the wreck who came from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, where rebels are battling the federal government in a recent flare-up of violence.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
While Linton has not been diagnosed with an underlying seizure disorder, such as epilepsy, defense attorney Jovan Blacknell said Linton suffered intermittent seizures during her life, including at the time of the wreck.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Indeed, I had blocked out most memories of that 2004 Fox reality train wreck until Carr’s documentary reached into my mind’s cobwebby attic and retrieved its cabinet of horrors.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
He thought of Fa: not Fa as he lay dying in the wreck of their shelter, but Fa as he’d been just before the bear attacked: laughing at the joke Torak had made.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
There are hundreds of wrecks in the area, and the Mediterranean Archaelogy Association specialises in finding and studying them.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
UC-30 later became one of the wrecks examined through the major NorthSeaWrecks research project.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
It struck musicians and illustrators, YouTubers and Instagrammers, self-proclaimed anxious wrecks and the freest of spirits.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
Readers will find engrossing case studies of well-known disasters such as the Titanic and the USS Indianapolis, as well as sections on bygone Viking wrecks and the mysterious “ghost ships” of seafaring lore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
But the multiple-vehicle wrecks tended to happen during the day, which stood to reason, given that there are more cars on the road at that time.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
I also don’t want my sister to feel that caring for mom has wrecked her finances.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
The city's electricity network said its infrastructure is being wrecked.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
“The Dog Stars” takes place in a wrecked, deserted 2035, after a viral plague has killed almost everybody on Earth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The brutal heat and intense working conditions inside the kitchen and the front area of the business come after a thief wrecked the rooftop air conditioning unit in search of copper wiring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
My body is wrecked, but I can’t sleep.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
The North Texas coaching staff built an approach that accentuated Mestemaker’s gifts: an arm like a catapult and a frame like a wrecking ball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Of course, “The Eric André Show,” a parody of late-night talk series, always begins with its eponymous host wrecking his set in the most chaotic manner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
His comments on the sidelines of G20 talks come as Russian and Ukrainian strikes targeting Black Sea ports have been wrecking and idling agricultural export capacity more quickly than trade flows can recover.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Done carefully, you can align your money with your beliefs without obviously wrecking your retirement.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Pima clambered up the shattered edge of the clipper and slipped inside, her hands fast and accomplished from years on wrecking crews.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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