wreckage

noun

wreck·​age ˈre-kij 

1

: the act of wrecking : the state of being wrecked

2

a

: something that has been wrecked

b

: broken and disordered parts or material from something wrecked

Synonyms of wreckage

• devastation
• destruction
• havoc
• demolition
• loss
• extinction

Examples of wreckage in a Sentence

Workers sifted through the wreckage of the building, searching for bodies.

They cleared the wreckage from the track.

Recent Examples on the Web

Dubai's government shared a photograph of firefighting teams dousing smouldering wreckage. —Shivam Patel, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025

The wreckage is almost 2,000 feet deep in the sea. —CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025

The artifacts are the first treasures to be recovered from the wreckage of the San José, a Spanish galleon that was sunk by the British Royal Navy in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago. —Michael Rios, CNN Money, 20 Nov. 2025

Flight 191 crashed into an open field, and the wreckage scattered into an adjacent trailer park, killing all 271 people onboard the flight and two people on the ground and injuring two others. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 20 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wreckage

noun

wreck·​age ˈrek-ij 

1

a

: the act of wrecking

b

: the state of being wrecked

2

: the remains of a wreck