train wreck

noun

variants or less commonly trainwreck

ˈtrān-ˌrek 

plural train wrecks also trainwrecks

1

: a violent and destructive crash involving a train

2

: an utter disaster or mess : a disastrous calamity or source of trouble

Six months later, with Washington facing a political train wreck in Iraq, whom did it call? The United Nations.

—Fareed Zakaria

The train wreck that was Florence Ballard could not be hidden anymore. … Those shows went on without a hitch, but with Ballard progressively drinking harder, disaster awaited them as they trekked from Miami to play several college dates across the South.

—Mark Ballard

… to create what is termed on Capitol Hill a train wreck—a budget crisis so awful that the President would have to seriously negotiate, and yield on taxes.

—Elizabeth Drew

Examples of train wreck in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

They’re commonly used in emergencies, such as airplane crashes, train wrecks, vehicle fires or any other fire involving fuels. —Carrie McDonough, The Conversation, 29 May 2026

Amend and extend The situation in private credit has, so far, been a sort of slow-moving train wreck as opposed to a cataclysmic derailing. —Tobias Burns, CNBC, 28 May 2026

This depends, of course, on how exactly such a galactic train wreck unfolds. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 22 May 2026

For Young, that means tossing aside a blocker, a process Minter likened to a train wreck. —Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for train wreck

• aztec
• breakneck
• codec
• exec
• mixtec
• paycheck
• pinchbeck
• recheck
• redneck
• toltec
• beck
• breck

Kids Definition

train wreck

noun

1

: a violent and destructive crash involving a train

2

: an utter disaster or mess