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wrecking

noun

Simple meaning

Destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rehking

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹɛkɪŋ

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined

  2. The act by which something is wrecked.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

wrecking ballwrecking barwrecking crewwrecking companywrecking yardauto wreckingtrain wrecking

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • ruin

    The act of ruining something.

  • ruining

    Destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined.

  • laying waste

    Destruction achieved by wrecking something.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • wreckverbBase word

    Smash or break forcefully.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • wreckernounPerson or profession

    Someone who demolishes or dismantles buildings as a job.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • wrecking barnounCompound term

    A heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked

laying wasteRareruinationruinruining

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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.