wreckage

noun

wreck·​age ˈre-kij 

1

: the act of wrecking : the state of being wrecked

2

a

: something that has been wrecked

b

: broken and disordered parts or material from something wrecked

Synonyms of wreckage

• devastation
• destruction
• havoc
• demolition
• loss
• extinction

Examples of wreckage in a Sentence

Workers sifted through the wreckage of the building, searching for bodies.

They cleared the wreckage from the track.

Recent Examples on the Web

And on Endor, the crew navigates the debris field of the second Death Star, tracking a Trandoshan pirate hiding in the wreckage. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 23 May 2026

Alongside the Mandalorian’s Razor Crest, flight crews will chase the bounties across the galaxy, to either the Cloud City on Bespin, the city-planet of Coruscant or the wreckage of the second Death Star in orbit above Endor. —Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026

An excavator that had been brought in to sift through the wreckage had reached ground level, meaning that everything above it had been checked. —Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 21 May 2026

Bradley's colleagues rushed to the hospital after getting the news of his crash and passing the wreckage on the way. —Olivia Young, CBS News, 20 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wreckage

noun

wreck·​age ˈrek-ij 

1

a

: the act of wrecking

b

: the state of being wrecked

2

: the remains of a wreck