wreck
noun
- unusable vehicle
- destroy
verb
- destroy
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɹɛk/ / /ˈɹæk/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrek, from Old Norse *wrek (Norwegian and Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vrag), from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną, whence also Old English wrecan (English wreak), Old High German rehhan, Old Saxon wrekan, Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan).
- Something or someone that has been ruined.
“He was an emotional wreck after the death of his wife.”
- The remains of something that has been severely damaged or worn down.
“To the fair haven of my native home, / The vvreck of vvhat I was, fatigued I come, […]”
“In 2006, 18-year-old Nikki Catsouras was killed in a car wreck in Lake Forest.”
- An event in which something is damaged through collision.
“Hard and obſtinate, / As is a rocke amidſt the raging floods: / gaynſt vvhich a ſhip of ſuccour deſolate, / doth ſuffer vvreck both of her ſelfe and goods.”
“the wrecks of matter and the crush of worlds”
- An event in which something is damaged through collision.
- Goods, etc. cast ashore by the sea after a shipwreck.
“2. ... Wreck includes the cargo, stores and tackle of a vessel and all parts of a vessel separated from the vessel, and the property of persons who belong to, are on board or have quitted a vessel that is wrecked, stranded or in distress at any place in Canada.”
- A large number of birds that have been brought to the ground, injured or dead, by extremely adverse weather.
“[I]n 1952 more than 7,000 were involved in such a "wreck" in Britain and Ireland.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrek, from Old Norse *wrek (Norwegian and Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vrag), from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną, whence also Old English wrecan (English wreak), Old High German rehhan, Old Saxon wrekan, Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan).
- To destroy violently; to cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless.
“He wrecked the car in a collision.”
“That adulterous hussy wrecked my marriage!”
- To ruin or dilapidate.
- To plunder goods from wrecked ships.
- To dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts.
- To involve in a wreck; hence, to cause to suffer ruin; to balk of success, and bring disaster on.
“Weak and envy'd, if they should conspire, / They wreck themselves, and he hath his Desire.”
- To be involved in a wreck; to be damaged or destroyed.
“[…] Mrs. Marleen Ketchum was not quite certain if the train wrecked or if the volcano blew its top. It took a moment before she was certain it had to be the passenger train.”