wrecks 1 of 2

plural of wreck
as in collisions
the violent coming together of two bodies into destructive contact a dangerous stretch of roadway that has been the scene of numerous car wrecks

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wrecks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of wreck
1
as in shipwrecks
to cause irreparable damage to (a ship) by running aground or sinking many an unwary captain has wrecked his ship on the shoals that surround the island

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2
as in ruins
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of most of the furniture on the ground floor was wrecked by the floodwaters

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wrecks
Noun
City living wrecks sleep, and noise masking is one of the cheapest fixes going. — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026 Many of these wrecks have been undiscovered for decades, with commercial access only being granted recently. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026 Waltrip obviously got into hundreds of wrecks over his nearly 30-year racing career. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026 In the subsequent highway traffic backup there were two additional wrecks, including at least eight vehicles. — Aaron Cooper, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026 Car wrecks and other mishaps lead to people disappearing, only to be later found submerged underwater. — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026 Huron Aviation, Alpena, Michigan (Lake Huron) Get a unique perspective on the wrecks in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary by seeing them from the air. — Stacy Conde, Midwest Living, 10 Aug. 2026 Car wrecks in which people are injured are frequent and many are not criminal matters, defense attorney Gill said in his closing argument in the guilt-innocence trial phase. — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Aug. 2026 The dramatic reappearance of the rusting wrecks has become one of the most striking visual reminders of both Europe’s wartime history and the severe drought currently gripping much of the continent. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
If checking your score reliably wrecks your morning, the device isn’t working for you. — J. David Creswell, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026 That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them. — New Atlas, 24 July 2026 As is the case with the Delta Aquarids, the moon, only one day past full, unfortunately, wrecks any chances of getting any decent views this year. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 18 July 2026 Those findings may sound like proof the job wrecks your hormones. — Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, CNN Money, 16 July 2026 Kyle Busch wrecks Ron Hornaday under caution! — Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 21 May 2026 The change launches biannual arguments about the practice, wrecks havoc on sleep and has inspired voters to go to California polls. — Hannah Poukish, Sacbee.com, 7 Mar. 2026 In a film like this, you’re ostensibly meant to root against the terror that the central characters wrecks on his victims. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2026 This process wrecks kidney and heart tissue, causing the heart to enlarge and blood vessels to become stiffer, impeding circulation and setting the stage for clots. — Jyoti Madhusoodanan, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrecks
Noun
  • The department maintains an early intervention system that flags officers based on risk factors, such as a relatively high volume of civilian complaints, frequent use of force, and involvement in preventable traffic collisions or pursuits.
    — Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Astronomers investigating mysterious flashes of X-rays believe that these blasts could stem from collisions between neutron stars, the events that forge elements like gold, silver, and platinum.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys gradually become feral and sadistic when trapped on an island together, and in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero magically shipwrecks his brother and his allies so that they will all be exiled together under his watch.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
Verb
  • George Santos simply cannot get up After surprising the DS by passing the first task — falling out of a hovering helicopter backward — Santos ruins his big moment by struggling to swim to the dock and not being able to lift himself out of the water.
    — Sarah Hearon, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Nothing ruins an outfit faster than an ill-fitting bra, which is why this V-neck option caught our eye.
    — Jacqueline Tempera, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Waymos were involved in 93% fewer injury crashes with pedestrians, 86% fewer with cyclists and 82% fewer with motorcyclists, according to the company’s numbers.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The study also listed Kansas City as the city in Missouri with the most crashes since 2020 — KC tallied with 424 in the six-year span.
    — Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The agreement follows years of uncertainty over the papers' future and scuttles a rival bid by the owner of the Daily Mail to buy the Telegraph titles.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
  • This scuttles a compromise, whereby paintings of Lee in his prewar blue Army uniform could remain while the portrait of Lee the secessionist and enslaver came down.
    — Time, Time, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Unlike a measurement that absorbs or destroys the photons, this method can extract information while preserving the photons themselves.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Raking or shredding those leaves destroys the next generation.
    — Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • His 2020 breakout record, Little Dominiques Nosebleed, examined place and heritage by tracing the ripples of two successive childhood car accidents; 2022’s ISTHISFORREAL?
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Other recent temporary closures in some of Chile’s copper mines, which are responsible for almost a quarter of global output, because of worker accidents and benefits disputes have also pushed up international prices.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Instead, excess testosterone is converted into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which causes the hair follicles to become smaller and then the hair strands to become thinner.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2026
  • When a storm strands the family with no wi-fi and no way home, everything changes.
    — Kevin Giraud, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Wrecks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrecks. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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