wreck

1. 1

   Something or someone that has been ruined.

   • He was an emotional wreck after the death of his wife.
2. 2

   The remains of something that has been severely damaged or worn down.

   • To the fair haven of my native home, / The vvreck of vvhat I was, fatigued I come, […]
   • In 2006, 18-year-old Nikki Catsouras was killed in a car wreck in Lake Forest.
3. 3

   An event in which something is damaged through collision.

   • Hard and obſtinate, / As is a rocke amidſt the raging floods: / gaynſt vvhich a ſhip of ſuccour deſolate, / doth ſuffer vvreck both of her ſelfe and goods.
   • the wrecks of matter and the crush of worlds
4. 4

   An event in which something is damaged through collision.; A shipwreck: an event in which a ship is heavily damaged or destroyed.specifically

5. 5

   Goods, etc. cast ashore by the sea after a shipwreck.uncountable

   • 2. ... Wreck includes the cargo, stores and tackle of a vessel and all parts of a vessel separated from the vessel, and the property of persons who belong to, are on board or have quitted a vessel that is wrecked, stranded or in distress at
6. 6

   A large number of birds that have been brought to the ground, injured or dead, by extremely adverse weather.

   • [I]n 1952 more than 7,000 were involved in such a "wreck" in Britain and Ireland.

syn. crash · ruins

1. 1

   To destroy violently; to cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless.transitive

   • He wrecked the car in a collision.
   • That adulterous hussy wrecked my marriage!
2. 2

   To ruin or dilapidate.transitive

3. 3

   To plunder goods from wrecked ships.obsoletetransitive

4. 4

   To dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts.Australiatransitive

5. 5

   To involve in a wreck; hence, to cause to suffer ruin; to balk of success, and bring disaster on.transitive

   • Weak and envy'd, if they should conspire, / They wreck themselves, and he hath his Desire.
6. 6

   To be involved in a wreck; to be damaged or destroyed.intransitive

   • […] Mrs. Marleen Ketchum was not quite certain if the train wrecked or if the volcano blew its top. It took a moment before she was certain it had to be the passenger train.

ant. build · construct · make · produce