wreck | meaning of wreck in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2024)

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwreckwreck1 /rek/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 1 SPOILto completely spoil something so that it cannot continue in a successful way SYN ruin Injury threatened to wreck his sporting career. It was drink that wrecked their marriage.2 DESTROYto damage something such as a building or vehicle so badly that it cannot be repaired The car was completely wrecked in the accident.► see thesaurus at destroy3 if a ship is wrecked, it is badly damaged and sinks SYN shipwreck The ship was wrecked off the coast of Africa.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpuswreck• Frelimo's Central Committee reported that by 1989,45 percent of all primary schools had either been closed or wrecked.• His confrontational speech has wrecked any chances of a peace settlement.• But the charges wrecked his campaign.• Glen drove right into a tree and wrecked his car.• They had stolen a car and wrecked in on the freeway.• The two years in prison wrecked Jarvis' marriage.• Such a storm had wrecked Mardonios' fleet off Athos twelve years before.• Ron's affair wrecked our marriage.• The bank robbers wrecked Stan's car trying to get away from police.• He came home drunk again, threatening to wreck the apartment.• Bulldozers were brought in to wreck the tents and shacks that protesters had put up.• Lindsay had solved the problem of trailering the stallions together by temporarily wrecking their communication through their sense of smell. Related topics: Transport, Water, Motor vehicleswreckwreck2 ●●○ noun [countable] 1 TTcar/planeDESTROY a car, plane, or train that has been damaged very badly, especially in a crash He was still alive when they pulled him from the wreck.► see thesaurus at accident2 TTWship a ship that has sunk SYN shipwreckwreck of Divers discovered the wreck of an old German warship.3 person informalNERVOUS someone who is very nervous, tired, or unhealthy He looked a complete wreck.nervous/emotional wreck The attack had left her an emotional wreck. 4 accident American EnglishTTCACCIDENT an accident involving cars or other vehicles SYN crashcar/train/plane wreck My father died in a car wreck.5 place a place that is very untidy When you’re here, this place is a wreck!6 old car informalTTCCONDITION/STATE OF something an old car that is in a very bad condition Examples from the Corpuswreck• She felt an absolute wreck, yet at the same time she felt acutely self-aware.• Mom looked like a complete wreck after the wedding.• The car was a complete wreck, but the driver escaped with minor injuries.• Without my exercise, I was a crying wreck.• It's embarrassing to be seen driving that old wreck.• I held her, trying to appear calm and composed on the outside, a shaking wreck on the inside.• Boss Mangan, the symbol of industrial and political might, is a love-stricken wreck easily manipulated by the go-getting Ellie Dunn.• Ten people were injured in the wreck.• Divers went down to search the wreck.• Investigators are searching the wreck for clues as to why the plane crashed.• Nobody could have survived the wreck.• The wrecks massing on shore, the wrecks made of ships in open water.• She also looked like a total wreck!• If there were no blizzard to shut down Washington, there would still be the budget train wreck.nervous/emotional wreck• At this rate she would go back to London a nervous wreck and have to resign.• By the time my friends left, l was a nervous wreck.• She was a nervous wreck, and all that was wrong with the child was measles.• Of course, we hardly needed to say, as we made our way upstairs, that we were both nervous wrecks.• It had to be learnt, if we were not to turn into nervous wrecks.• Just the thing for a twitching little nervous wreck who keeps passing out on her dinner dates.• Apparently some of them nervous wrecks.car/train/plane wreck• If there were no blizzard to shut down Washington, there would still be the budget train wreck.• And if the budget train wreck ended, there would still be -- political correctness.• The show-biz story of the decade has spawned the cinematic train wreck of 1996.• They leapt down the car wrecks and legged it across the ground towards the girl.• Something was burning out there, not in the car wreck ... but beside it.• Rain was hissing on the roof of the car wreck, fogging the scene still further.• It strode through the black rain to the car wreck in the forecourt, sensing the presence of more food.Origin wreck2 (1200-1300) Anglo-French wrek, from a Scandinavian language