wreck
noun · verb
Simple meaning
To destroy violently.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rehkIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹɛk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
“The house was a wreck when they bought it.”
Something or someone that has been ruined.
A ship that has been destroyed at sea
The remains of something that has been severely damaged or worn down.
An event in which something is damaged through collision.
verb
transitive
To destroy violently; to cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless.
transitive
To involve in a wreck; hence, to cause to suffer ruin; to balk of success, and bring disaster on.
transitiveAustralia
To dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts.
transitive
To ruin or dilapidate.
intransitive
To be involved in a wreck; to be damaged or destroyed.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
Used this way, wreck is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
“The house was a wreck when they bought it.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use wreck
- “The house was a wreck when they bought it.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The event of a structure being completely demolished and leveled.
Someone who demolishes or dismantles buildings as a job.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The remaining parts of something that has been wrecked.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to destroy violently
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.