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

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

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

The fleet encountered a hurricane off the coast of Eastern Florida in an area now known as the Treasure Coast — named for the fact that a large number of shipwrecks took place there — and all but one of the fleet’s approximately 12 ships were destroyed. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025

Between 1875 and 1975 the Great Lakes claimed a staggering 6,000 shipwrecks — that’s an average of one per week, for a century — yet most people can only name one. —John U. Bacon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025

Verb

The four tried to sail across the sea but were shipwrecked in Spain, where all four of them survived and went on to their next adventure in Not Mexico together. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025

Two married sea-explorers are stranded, Gilligan-style, after a storm shipwrecks their craft. —Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025

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

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1589, 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