| 释义 |
wreck
I. \ˈrek\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English wrek, from Anglo-French wrek, wrec, warec, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse rek wreck, reka to drive, push — more at wreak
1. : something that is cast up on the land by the sea; specifically : goods and other material cast upon the land by the sea after a shipwreck
< when flotsam, jetsam and lagan are thrown by the waves on land, they become wreck — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox >
2. dialect Britain : wrack 2
3.
a. : the destruction or injury of a vessel by being cast on shore or on rocks or by being disabled or sunk by the force of winds or waves or by other accident : shipwreck; also : an instance of such destruction or foundering
b. : the action of wrecking or the fact or state of being wrecked : destruction, disorganization, or serious injury of something especially by violence : the process of bringing or being brought to disaster
< tempted motorists to such high speeds that wrecks were frequent — American Guide Series: Arkansas >
< two points of view are left, after the wreck of the naïve progress-myth — Herbert Agar >
4.
a. : a hulk or the ruins of a wrecked or stranded ship : a ship dashed against rocks or land and broken or otherwise made useless; also : a dilapidated old ship beyond or near the end of service
b. : the disordered or broken remains of something that has been wrecked, demolished, or otherwise ruined
< saw the wreck of a great civilization … and nothing left except some ruins and rocks — F.D.Roosevelt >
< are these rings, perhaps, the wrecks of ancient novae — Waldemar Kaempffert >
< in the wreck of the ancient literature it is not easy to illustrate as abundantly — Benjamin Farrington >
also : the physically or spiritually broken or decayed remains of a person
< seeing the wreck of the flamboyant figure, to offer him food and drink — E.V.Lucas >
< a wreck of former talent — H.J.Laski >
c. : something that has been wrecked or disabled : something shattered or in a state of ruin or dilapidation
< an equally prominent location to deposit the wreck of a car — G.R.Stewart >
also : a person or animal of broken constitution, health, or spirits
< such work killed many of them, or deformed them, or left them tubercular wrecks — Stringfellow Barr >
< this poor wreck of a gutless coward — Barnaby Conrad >
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English wrekken, from wrek wreck
transitive verb
1. : to cast ashore
2.
a. : to reduce to a ruinous state by violence : overthrow, shatter, or destroy by force : cause to crash or suffer ruin
< wreck a train >
< the cashier's errors wrecked the bank >
: break up completely : frustrate
< wreck a political program >
< ambition wrecked his marriage >
b. : to destroy, disable, or seriously damage (as a ship) by driving against the shore or on rocks or by causing to become unseaworthy or to founder : shipwreck
c. : to involve in a wreck : cause to suffer or to be lost by shipwreck : ruin, damage, or imperil by wreck
< wrecked freight >
< passengers wrecked on the coast >
d. : to involve in irreparable disaster or ruin
< wreck himself with dissipation >
< wreck their future happiness >
e. : to bring to a condition of complete physical impairment or to an unsound condition
< wreck his constitution >
3.
a. obsolete : wreak 1b
b. : wreak 3
< they wreck havoc with hives, smashing commercial hives into splinters — Wildlife in North Carolina >
4. : to free (tar) of liquid accumulated on the surface
intransitive verb
1. : to suffer wreck : become wrecked
< when the car wrecked at 3:30 a.m. — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News >
2. : to search out, remove, rob, salvage, or repair wreckage or a wreck
Synonyms: see destroy |