I.
noun
1 of a ship
VERB + WRECK
▪ discover , find , locate
▪
Divers were sent down to try and locate the ~.
▪ explore
▪ raise , salvage
▪
They're going to try and raise the ~ from the sea bed.
▪ salvage sth from
PREPOSITION
▪ in a/the ~
▪
They are worried about the oil still in the ~.
▪ on a/the ~
▪
Heavy seas prevented salvage teams from landing on the ~.
▪ ~ of
▪
the ~ of the Titanic
2 of a car/plane
ADJECTIVE
▪ total
▪ crumpled
▪ blazing , burning
▪
Explosions ripped through the blazing ~.
VERB + WRECK
▪ be trapped in
▪
Two passengers are still trapped in the ~.
▪ escape , escape from
3 ( esp. AmE ) accident
ADJECTIVE
▪ car , train
VERB + WRECK
▪ cause
▪ survive
PHRASES
▪ like watching a car ~ , like watching a train ~
▪
His attempts at damage control are like watching a car ~.
▪ a train ~ waiting to happen (= is likely to be a disaster)
▪
The campaign is a train ~ waiting to happen.
4 of a person
ADJECTIVE
▪ absolute , complete , total
▪ emotional , nervous
▪
The interview reduced him to a nervous ~.
▪ gibbering , quivering
▪
I always turn into a gibbering ~ at interviews.
▪ physical
VERB + WRECK
▪ feel , look (both esp. BrE )
▪
I hadn't slept for two days, and I felt a complete physical ~.
▪ reduce sb to ( esp. BrE )
II.
verb
ADVERB
▪ completely , totally
▪
A bomb completely ~ed the building.
▪ almost , nearly
▪ effectively ( esp. BrE )
VERB + WRECK
▪ try to , want to
▪ threaten to
▪
a crisis that threatens to ~ the peace talks
Wreck is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ vandal
Wreck is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ car , ↑ career , ↑ economy , ↑ friendship , ↑ hope , ↑ prospect