Meanings
nounwrack and ruin (uncountable)
alternative wracke and ruine
- idiomaticuncountableComplete destruction.
Whiles all things seeme to fall to wracke and ruine.
1577, Henry Bull, Commentarie upon the fiftene psalmes (by Martin Luther, translation)
Origin
1577, as wracke and ruine, influenced by earlier go to wrecke (1548).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
wrack and ruin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrack%20and%20ruin
MLA
“wrack and ruin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrack%20and%20ruin. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wrack and ruin,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrack%20and%20ruin.
Source: wrack and ruin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.