wreck

Formswrecks, wrecking, wrecked

Pluralwrecks

1. 1
   verbtransitive

   To damage something so badly that it no longer works or is useless.

   He wrecked his bike when he rode it into a wall.

   Strong winds can wreck a wooden fence in minutes.

   Similardestroy, smash, total, demolish, ruin

   Oppositerepair

   Note
2. 2
   terrible statenouncountable

   A person or thing that has been ruined and is in a very bad state.

   After a week of exams, I was a complete wreck.

   The old house was a wreck when we bought it.

   Similarmess, ruin

   Note
3. 3
   nouncountable

   An accident in which something is damaged by crashing into something else.

   There was a bad wreck on the highway this morning.

   Nobody was hurt in the wreck, but both cars were ruined.

   Similarcrash, collision, accident, pileup, smash

   Note
4. 4
   nouncountable

   What is left of something after it has been badly damaged or worn out.

   Only the wreck of the old barn was left after the fire.

   Kids played in the rusty wreck of a truck behind the farm.

   Similarremains, debris, hulk

   Note
5. 5
   verbtransitive

   To ruin something, or let it fall into a bad, broken-down state.

   Years of rain and snow wrecked the empty cabin.

   Eating too much candy can wreck your teeth.

   Similarruin, destroy, devastate, trash

   Oppositerestore

6. 6
   ship accidentnouncountable

   An accident at sea in which a ship is badly damaged or destroyed.

   The sailors lost everything they owned in the wreck.

   Many ships were lost in wrecks along this rocky coast.

7. 7
   crashverbintransitive

   To crash, or be badly damaged or destroyed in an accident.

   Small planes sometimes wreck in these mountains when the weather turns bad.

   Two trucks wrecked on the icy road last night.

   Similarcrash

8. 8
   verbtransitive

   To bring disaster on someone or something, so that they fail or are ruined.

   One mistake by the captain could wreck the whole crew on the rocks.

   The injury wrecked her hopes of making the team.

   Similarruin, destroy, derail, sink

   Note
9. 9
   washed-up goodsnoununcountable

   Things from a wrecked ship that the sea has washed up onto the shore.

   After the storm, wreck from the cargo ship covered the beach.

   The children found a wooden crate among the wreck on the sand.

   Similarflotsam

   Note
10. 10
    strip for partsverbAustraliatransitive

    To take apart old or crashed cars or other things to save the parts that still work.

    My uncle wrecks old cars in his backyard and sells the parts.

    We decided to wreck the broken washing machine for its motor.

    Similarstrip, dismantle, cannibalize, scrap

    Note
11. 11
    fallen birdsnouncountable

    A large number of birds forced down to the ground, hurt or dead, by very bad weather.

    The winter storms caused a wreck, and dead and dying seabirds covered the shore.

    Volunteers helped the few birds that survived the wreck.

    Note

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