train wreck

noun

Definition of train wreck

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

James’ first season with the Lakers was a train wreck. — Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, "The book on Andre Iguodala: Here are two teams he could help," 1 July 2019 Fans should set up shop near one of those greens and wait for a train wreck or two among dozens of birdies. — Tad Reeve, Twin Cities, "Tad Reeve: Can TPC Twin Cities stand up to PGA Tour’s best at 3M Open?," 3 June 2019 And his Venezuela policy is similarly a train wreck. — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, "Mexico, Cuba, and Trump’s Increasing Preference for Punishment Over Diplomacy," 11 June 2019 But Cavner knows what golf fans like, and that’s birdies and train wrecks. — Tad Reeve, Twin Cities, "Tad Reeve: Can TPC Twin Cities stand up to PGA Tour’s best at 3M Open?," 3 June 2019 Raymond Arroyo is here with a report on Emmy Award train wreck. — Fox News, "Ingraham: The rush to judgment and injustice for Kavanaugh," 18 Sep. 2018 Snipes has been a train wreck for the better part of two decades. — Jane Coaston, Vox, "Brenda Snipes says she won’t resign as Broward County election supervisor after all," 3 Dec. 2018 Although there is no evidence that either engineer was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a pair of recent Amtrak train wrecks in South Carolina and Washington state have increased scrutiny of commercial transportation. — Washington Post, "Failed federal drug tests among transportation workers soar by 77 percent amid opioid epidemic," 7 Feb. 2018 The BerryDunn report painted VermontHealthConnect as a slow-motion train wreck, but Larson was confident. — Lynnley Browning, Newsweek, "Doubling Down on Obamacare," 6 Feb. 2014

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'train wreck.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.