wreck

¹wreck

noun \ˈrek\

Definition of WRECK

1

: something cast up on the land by the sea especially after a shipwreck

2

a : shipwreck b : the action of wrecking or fact or state of being wrecked : destruction c : a violent and destructive crash <was injured in a car wreck>

3

a : a hulk or the ruins of a wrecked ship b : the broken remains of something wrecked or otherwise ruined c : something disabled or in a state of ruin or dilapidation <the house was a wreck>; also : a person or animal of broken constitution, health, or spirits <he's a nervous wreck>

Examples of WRECK

1. This car has never been in a wreck.
2. The stress of her final exams made her a wreck.
3. Dad was a nervous wreck on the day I had my surgery.

Origin of WRECK

Middle English wrek, from Anglo-French, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse rek wreck; akin to Old English wrecan to drive

First Known Use: 12th century

Related to WRECK

Synonyms: ashes, debris, detritus, flotsam, residue, rubble, ruins, remains, wreckage

Related Words: jetsam, leavings, remnant; chaff, deadwood, dross, dust, garbage, junk, litter, refuse, riffraff, rubbish, scrap, trash, waste

Near Antonyms: recovery, salvage, salvaging

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Rhymes with WRECK

beck, Cech, check, Czech, deck, dreck, Eck, fleck, heck, Lech, lek, neck, pec, peck, reck, sec, sneck, spec, speck, trek, wreak