wreck
[verb]
Synonyms:
- destroy, break, demolish, devastate, ruin, shatter, smash, spoil
[noun]
Synonyms:
- shipwreck, hulk

---

Related Words: despoil, loot, plunder, ravage, cripple, disable

---

English Thesaurus: accident, crash, collision, a head-on collision, disaster, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. wreck¹ /rek/ verb [transitive]

1. to completely spoil something so that it cannot continue in a successful way Synonym : ruin:
Injury threatened to wreck his sporting career.
It was drink that wrecked their marriage.

2. to damage something such as a building or vehicle so badly that it cannot be repaired:
The car was completely wrecked in the accident.

3. if a ship is wrecked, it is badly damaged and sinks Synonym : shipwreck:
The ship was wrecked off the coast of Africa.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. wreck² noun [countable]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: wrek, from a Scandinavian language]

1. CAR/PLANE a car, plane, or train that has been damaged very badly, especially in a crash:
He was still alive when they pulled him from the wreck.

2. SHIP a ship that has sunk Synonym : shipwreck
wreck of
Divers discovered the wreck of an old German warship.

3. PERSON informal someone who is very nervous, tired, or unhealthy:
He looked a complete wreck.
nervous/emotional wreck
The attack had left her an emotional wreck.

4. ACCIDENT American English an accident involving cars or other vehicles Synonym : crash
car/train/plane wreck
My father died in a car wreck.

5. PLACE a place that is very untidy:
When you’re here, this place is a wreck!

6. OLD CAR informal an old car that is in a very bad condition

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

wreck
noun
I. of a ship
VERB + WRECK discover, find, locate Divers were sent down to try and locate the wreck.
raise, salvage They're going to try and raise the wreck from the sea bed.
salvage sth from | escape (from)
PREP. in a/the ~ They are worried about the oil still in the wreck.
on a/the ~ Heavy seas prevented salvage teams from landing on the wreck.
~ of the wreck of the Titanic

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

wreck
II. of a car/plane
ADJ. total | crumpled | blazing, burning Explosions ripped through the blazing wreck.
VERB + WRECK be trapped in Two passengers are still trapped in the wreck.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

wreck
III. of a person/thing
ADJ. absolute, complete, total | emotional, nervous The interview reduced him to a nervous wreck.
gibbering, quivering, shaking, whimpering I always turn into a gibbering wreck at interviews.
physical
VERB + WRECK feel, look I hadn't slept for two days, and I felt a complete physical wreck.
reduce sb to | escape (from) | salvage sth from
PREP. ~ of They still hoped to salvage something from the wreck of their marriage.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

wreck
verb
ADV. completely, totally A bomb completely wrecked the building.
almost, nearly | effectively
VERB + WRECK threaten to a crisis that threatens to wreck the peace talks

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

accident an event in which a vehicle is damaged and often someone is hurt:
Her father died in a car accident.
Hugh had an accident on his way to work.
crash a serious accident in which a vehicle hits something else:
Rees-Jones was the only person to survive the crash.
a car/plane/train crash
He was killed in a plane crash.
collision an accident in which two or more cars, trains etc hit each other:
His car was involved in a collision with a train.
⇒ a head-on collision (=between vehicles that are driving towards each other):
The actor was killed in a head-on collision while driving his new sports car.
disaster a serious accident involving a train, plane, or boat, in which a lot of people are killed or injured:
It was Britain’s worst air disaster.
wreck American English an accident in which a car or train is badly damaged:
Ben nearly died in a car wreck.
pile-up an accident that involves several cars or trucks:
The pile-up happened in thick fog.
There was a 12-car pile-up on the motorway.
fender-bender American English informal
, prang British English informal a car accident in which little damage is done:
Atkinson was involved in a fender-bender in the hotel parking lot.
At 15, he borrowed his parents’ car and had a prang.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

destroy to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired:
The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city.
The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it:
Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city.
The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident:
The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times.
The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing:
The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building:
The toilets had been wrecked by vandals.
They just wrecked the place.
trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc:
Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains:
The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely:
The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed:
Fungus may ruin the crop.
The new houses will ruin the view.
accident an event in which a vehicle is damaged and often someone is hurt:
Her father died in a car accident.
Hugh had an accident on his way to work.
crash a serious accident in which a vehicle hits something else:
Rees-Jones was the only person to survive the crash.
a car/plane/train crash
He was killed in a plane crash.
collision an accident in which two or more cars, trains etc hit each other:
His car was involved in a collision with a train.
⇒ a head-on collision (=between vehicles that are driving towards each other):
The actor was killed in a head-on collision while driving his new sports car.
disaster a serious accident involving a train, plane, or boat, in which a lot of people are killed or injured:
It was Britain’s worst air disaster.
pile-up an accident that involves several cars or trucks:
The pile-up happened in thick fog.
There was a 12-car pile-up on the motorway.
fender-bender American English informal
, prang British English informal a car accident in which little damage is done:
Atkinson was involved in a fender-bender in the hotel parking lot.
At 15, he borrowed his parents’ car and had a prang.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rubbish especially British English things that people throw away, such as old food, dirty paper etc:
People are being encouraged to recycle their household rubbish.
the rubbish bin
garbage/trash American English rubbish:
The garbage is collected every Tuesday.
There were piles of trash in the backyard.
a black plastic garbage bag
refuse formal rubbish:
The strike has disrupted refuse collection.
It’s a site which is used for domestic refuse.
litter empty bottles, pieces of paper etc that people have dropped on the ground:
Parents should teach children not to drop litter.
There was a lot of litter on the beach.
waste rubbish, or materials that need to be dealt with after they have been used in industrial processes:
nuclear waste
toxic waste
household waste
The company was fined for dumping toxic waste in the sea.
destroy to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired:
The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city.
The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it:
Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city.
The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident:
The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times.
The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing:
The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building:
The toilets had been wrecked by vandals.
They just wrecked the place.
trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc:
Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains:
The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely:
The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed:
Fungus may ruin the crop.
The new houses will ruin the view.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲