wreck

[rek]

noun

1. any building, structure, or thing reduced to a state of ruin.

2. wreckage, goods, etc., remaining above water after a shipwreck, especially when cast ashore.

3. the ruin or destruction of a vessel in the course of navigation; shipwreck.

4. a vessel in a state of ruin from disaster at sea, on rocks, etc.

5. the ruin or destruction of anything.

   the wreck of one's hopes.

6. 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)

1. to cause the wreck of (a vessel); shipwreck.

2. to involve in a wreck.

3. to cause the ruin or destruction of.

   to wreck a car.

   Synonyms: shatter, devastate, destroy

4. to tear down; demolish.

   to wreck a building.

5. to ruin or impair severely.

   Fast living wrecked their health.

verb (used without object)

1. to be involved in a wreck; become wrecked.

   The trains wrecked at the crossing.

2. to act as a wrecker; engage in wrecking.

wreck

/ rɛk /

verb

1. to involve in or suffer disaster or destruction

2. (tr) to cause the wreck of (a ship)

noun

1. 1. the accidental destruction of a ship at sea

   2. the ship so destroyed

2. maritime law goods cast ashore from a wrecked vessel

3. a person or thing that has suffered ruin or dilapidation

4. the remains of something that has been destroyed

5. old-fashioned,  the act of wrecking or the state of being wrecked; ruin or destruction

Other Word Forms

• unwrecked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreck¹

First recorded in 1200–50; (noun) Middle English wrec, wrech, wrek, from Old Danish wrækæ “wreck”; (verb) late Middle English, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreck¹

C13: from Scandinavian; compare Icelandic rek. See _wrack ², _wreak

Synonym Study

See spoil.

Example Sentences

The Terra Nova was discovered in 2012, but the new expedition has been the first opportunity to record extensive footage of the wreck.

From BBC

"I'm very nervous, very confused about everything that's going on and my nerves are a total wreck," she said.

From BBC

Swerving his car around the cow and into a pole wrecked Hank’s promising professional baseball career.

From Los Angeles Times

After a two-and-a-half year stint as Manchester United's head of women's football, she was acutely aware of the club's capacity to wreck best laid plans due to the huge global interest in them.

From BBC

"I've never spoke about it before because obviously I ended up a wreck and nobody knows other than immediate friends and family."

From BBC

Related Words

• batter 
• decimate 
• demolish 
• destroy 
• devastate 
• impair 
• injure 
• mangle 
• mar 
• ravage 
• raze 
• ruin 
• sabotage 
• shatter 
• sink 
• smash 
• spoil 
• torpedo 
• trash 
• undermine 

When To Use

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.