Link Centre Dictionary

wreck

UK/ˈɹɛk/ US/ˈɹæk/ common
verb (1) noun (4)

verb

1.

smash or break forcefully

  • “The kid busted up the car”
Synonyms

noun

1.

something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation

  • “the house was a wreck when they bought it”
  • “thanks to that quack I am a human wreck”
2.

an accident that destroys a ship at sea

Synonyms
3.

a serious accident (usually involving one or more vehicles)

  • “they are still investigating the crash of the TWA plane”
Synonyms
4.

a ship that has been destroyed at sea

Origin

From Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrek, from Old Norse *wrek (whence Norwegian rek, Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vrag), from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną (“to pursue”, whence Old English wrecan (English wreak), Old Saxon wrekan, Old High German rëhhan, Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan)), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track; to hunt; to follow”).

Phrases

  • car wreck
  • catch wreck
  • check yourself before you wreck yourself
  • nervous wreck
  • train wreck
  • wreck car
  • wreck grab
  • wreck havoc
  • wreck of the Hesperus
  • wreck the hoose juice

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.