wreck

plural wrecks

1. Something or someone that has been ruined.

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

   Synonyms: basket case, mess

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

   In 2006, 18-year-old Nikki Catsouras was killed in a car wreck in Lake Forest.

   2015 July 16, Rob Hayes, “Santa Monica nonprofit pushing Google for 'Right to be Forgotten'”, in KABC-TV, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2026

   1 more example

   To the fair haven of my native home, / The vvreck of vvhat I was, fatigued I come, […]

   1782, William Cowper, “Retirement”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 277

3. An event in which something is damaged through collision.

   the wrecks of matter and the crush of worlds

   1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 57

   2 more examples

   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.

   1595, Edmunde Spenser [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “[Amoretti.] Sonnet LVI”, in Amoretti and Epithalamion. […], London: […] [Peter Short] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, signature [D5], verso

   Its intellectual life was thus able to go on amidst the wreck of its political life.

   1883, John Richard Green, The Conquest of England

   1. specificallynauticalA shipwreck: an event in which a ship is heavily damaged or destroyed.
4. uncountablelawGoods, etc. cast ashore by the sea after a shipwreck.

   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 any place in Canada.

   1985, “Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)”, in Justice Canada, retrieved 09 Sep 2021

5. biologyA 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.

   1988, Michael Cady, Rob Hume, editors, The Complete Book of British Birds, page 89

present singular third person wrecks · participle present wrecking · participle past wrecked · past wrecked

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

   He wrecked the car in a collision.

   2 more examples

   That adulterous hussy wrecked my marriage!

   Supposing that they saw the king's ship wrecked.

   1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]

2. transitiveTo ruin or dilapidate.
3. obsoletetransitiveTo plunder goods from wrecked ships.
4. AustraliatransitiveTo dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts.
5. transitiveTo involve in a wreck; hence, to cause to suffer ruin; to balk of success, and bring disaster on.

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

   1595, Samuel Daniel, “(please specify the folio number)”, in The First Fowre Bookes of the Ciuile Wars between the Two Houses of Lancaster and Yorke, London: […] P[eter] Short for Simon Waterson, →OCLC

6. intransitiveTo be involved in a wreck; to be damaged or destroyed.

   […] 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.

   2020, Marti Talbott, McShane's Bride, page 112