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

The Summer House star posed the pointed question to Sydney Sweeney, whose character Cassie gave viewers some iconic scenes in the show's second season in her mission to nab Nate (Jacob Elordi) after his train wreck of a breakup with her best friend Maddy (Alexa Demie). —Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026

The Colorado River might be about to deliver the most complex multilevel train wreck of all. —Mark Gongloff, Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2026

Should be a f*cking train wreck. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026

The end of that Warriors tilt was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. —Troy Renck, Denver Post, 23 Feb. 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