wrecking ball

noun

: a heavy iron or steel ball swung or dropped by a derrick to demolish old buildings

called also wrecker's ball

Examples of wrecking ball in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, this year, Disney has taken a wrecking ball to the broadcast exclusivity of the past. — Alex Sherman, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

And indeed, many other movie palaces in Chicago did end up falling to the wrecking ball. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Poor Helen Hayes, grande dame of the stage, lived long enough to see her namesake theater meet the wrecking ball. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2026

The existing Mediterranean-style home—originally designed in the early 1990s by architect Marc Appleton to mimic a coastal Greek village—is now facing the wrecking ball. — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wrecking ball

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol
• gossypol