shipwreck

1 of 2

noun

ship·​wreck ˈship-ˌrek 

1

: a wrecked ship or its parts

2

: the destruction or loss of a ship

3

: an irretrievable loss or failure

Their relationship was a shipwreck.

… unwittingly assured the shipwreck of his career.

—Bruce Hutchison

shipwreck

2 of 2

verb

shipwrecked; shipwrecking; shipwrecks

transitive verb

1

a

: to cause to experience shipwreck

b

: ruin

2

: to destroy (a ship) by grounding or foundering

Synonyms of shipwreck

Noun

• wrecking
• wreck
• sinking
• shipwrecking

Verb

• wreck

Examples of shipwreck in a Sentence

Noun

Only a few sailors survived the shipwreck.

The crew narrowly avoided shipwreck.

Divers searched the sunken shipwreck.

Verb

the yachtsman fell asleep at the wheel and shipwrecked his ketch on the rocks

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Record-low water levels along the Danube River have exposed dozens of German military shipwrecks near the Serbian town of Prahovo, where an estimated 200 vessels were deliberately scuttled by retreating Nazi forces in 1944. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026

My mother, Kath, has said that’s why nobody heard much about it when my great-great-grandmother Fanny Mounsey died for the first time in a shipwreck in 1914. — Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

Verb

In a passage from the Book of Acts, Paul is shipwrecked while sailing for Rome. — John Blake, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026

They are subsequently shipwrecked, with Odysseus left as the sole survivor on the shores of Calypso’s island. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

alteration of earlier shipwrack, from Middle English schipwrak, from Old English scipwræc, from scip ship + wræc something driven by the sea — more at wrack

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1561, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

shipwreck

1 of 2 noun

ship·​wreck -ˌrek 

1

: a wrecked ship

2

: the destruction or loss of a ship

shipwreck

2 of 2 verb

1

: to cause to experience shipwreck

a storm that shipwrecked the sailors

2

: to destroy (a ship) by driving ashore or sinking