wreck
noun /rek/
/rek/
- a ship that has sunk or that has been very badly damaged
- They're going to try and raise the wreck from the seabed.
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by waterc1- Heavy seas prevented salvage teams from landing on the wreck.
- They are worried about the oil still in the wreck.
- the wreck of the Titanic
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + wreck- discover
- find
- locate
- …
- in a/the wreck
- on a/the wreck
- wreck of
- …
- a car, plane, etc. that has been very badly damaged in an accident
- Two passengers are still trapped in the wreck.
- She was pulled from the burning wreck by firefighters.
Synonyms crashcrash- slam
- collide
- smash
- wreck
- crash to hit an object or another vehicle, causing damage; to make a vehicle do this:
- I was terrified that the plane would crash.
- slam (something) into/against somebody/something to crash into something with a lot of force; to make something do this:
- The car skidded and slammed into a tree.
- collide (rather formal) (of two vehicles or people) to crash into each other; (of a vehicle or person) to crash into somebody/something else:
- The car and the van collided head-on in thick fog.
- smash (rather informal) to crash into something with a lot of force; to make something do this; to crash a car:
- Ram-raiders smashed a stolen car through the shop window.
- wreck to crash a vehicle and damage it so badly that it is not worth repairing
- two vehicles crash/collide
- two vehicles crash/slam/smash into each other
- to crash/smash/wreck a car
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by car or lorryc1- (figurative) The campaign is a train wreck waiting to happen.
- The wreck occurred at milepost 534, just west of Greenup, Kentucky.
- His attempts at damage control are like watching a car wreck.
- Explosions ripped through the blazing wreck.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- car
- train
- cause
- survive
- like watching a car wreck
- like watching a train wreck
- a train wreck waiting to happen
- …
- [usually singular] (informal) a person who is in a bad physical or mental condition
- Physically, I was a total wreck.
- The experience left her an emotional wreck.
- The interview reduced him to a nervous wreck.
Extra Examples- I hadn't slept for two days, and I felt a complete physical wreck.
- I always turn into a gibbering wreck at interviews.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- absolute
- complete
- total
- …
- feel
- look
- reduce somebody to
- …
- (informal) a vehicle, building, etc. that is in very bad condition
- The house was a wreck when we bought it.
- (figurative) They still hoped to salvage something from the wreck of their marriage.
- (North American English) (also crash British and North American English)an accident in which a vehicle hits something, for example another vehicle, usually causing damage and often injuring or killing the passengers
- a car/train wreck
More Like This Silent lettersSilent letters- gnarled
- gnash
- gnat
- gnaw
- gnome
- haute cuisine
- heir
- herb
- honour
- hors d’oeuvre
- hour
- knack
- knee
- kneel
- knife
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- knit
- knob
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- knot
- know
- knuckle
- psalm
- psephology
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- wrangle
- wrap
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- wrench
- wrestle
- wriggle
- wring
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- bomb
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- crumb
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- lamb
- limb
- ascent
- fascinate
- muscle
- scene
- scissors
- height
- right
- sleigh
- weight
- align
- campaign
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- foreign
- malign
- reign
- unfeigned
- balmy
- calm
- calf
- half
- yolk
- autumn
- column
- condemn
- damn
- hymn
- solemn
- bristle
- fasten
- listen
- mortgage
- soften
- thistle
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Word OriginMiddle English (as a legal term denoting wreckage washed ashore): from Anglo-Norman French wrec, from the base of Old Norse reka ‘to drive’; related to wreak.