/ˈɹɛk/, /ˈɹæk/
OriginFrom Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrek, from Old Norse *wrek (Norwegian and Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vrag), from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną, whence also Old English wrecan (English wreak), Old High German rehhan, Old Saxon wrekan, Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan).
- Something or someone that has been ruined.
“He was an emotional wreck after the death of his wife.”
- 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.”
- 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”
“Its intellectual life was thus able to go on amidst the wreck of its political life.”
- specificallyA shipwreck: an event in which a ship is heavily damaged or destroyed.
- uncountableGoods, 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 tha”
- 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.”
- 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.”
“That adulterous hussy wrecked my marriage!”
“Supposing that they saw the king's ship wrecked.”
- transitiveTo ruin or dilapidate.
- obsolete, transitiveTo plunder goods from wrecked ships.
- Australia, transitiveTo dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts.
- 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.”
- 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.”
Formswrecks(plural) · wrecks(present, singular, third-person) · wrecking(participle, present) · wrecked(participle, past) · wrecked(past)