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

But this town is teetering between the wreckage and the recovery. —Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026

With the assistance of Native Air, authorities located the wreckage in an open field, the Sheriff’s Office said. —Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 7 Feb. 2026

First identified from wreckage recovered near Kyiv and Dnipro in early January, the drone points to a quiet but important shift in how Moscow is thinking about long-range strike and air-defense saturation. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 4 Feb. 2026

SkyCal flew over the spot of the collision, where a long line of traffic was stretching back from the wreckage. —Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026

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