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