wreak havoc

phrase

: to cause great damage

A powerful tornado wreaked havoc on the small village.

The virus wreaked havoc on my computer.

Examples of wreak havoc in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Today, a federal court halted it before this administration could wreak havoc on our elections. — Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026

Massive landslides and catastrophic flash floods have wreaked havoc at the Nepal-China border, destroying houses, wiping out bridges and killing at least 616 people since the landslide on August 26. — Annette Choi, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026

The crabs were first spotted in the Mediterranean Sea in the last century but really began wreaking havoc only around a decade ago, when their population surged, posing a threat both to native biodiversity and to the fishing industry. — Gennaro Tomma, Scientific American, 25 Aug. 2026

The war, however, finally imposed consequences on the American public when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and targeted Gulf energy infrastructure, wreaking havoc on global energy shipments. — Nate Swanson, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026