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Definition of wreck verb from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

     

    wreck

     verb
    verb
    NAmE//rɛk//
     
    Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they wreck
     
     he / she / it wrecks
     
     past simple wrecked
     
     -ing form wrecking
     
     
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  1. 1wreck something to damage or destroy something The building had been wrecked by the explosion. The mob wrecked twenty-four cars. Thesauruscrash
    • slam
    • collide
    • smash
    • wreck
    These are all words that can be used when something, especially a vehicle, hits something else very hard and is damaged or destroyed.
    • crash (somewhat informal) 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 (somewhat formal) (of two vehicles or people) to crash into each other; (of a vehicle or person) to crash into someone or something else:The car and the van collided head-on in thick fog.
    • smash (somewhat informal) to crash into something with a lot of force; to make something do this; to crash a car:The thieves smashed a stolen car through the store's display.
    crash, slam, or smash?
    • Crash is used especially to talk about vehicles and can be used without a preposition:We're going to crash, aren't we?In this meaning slam and smash always take a preposition:We're going to slam/smash, aren't we?They are used for a much wider range of things than just vehicles. Crash can also be used for other things, if used with a preposition:She turned the corner in the hallway and crashed into the soda machine.
    • wreck to crash a vehicle and damage it very badly
    Patterns
    • two vehicles crash/collide
    • two vehicles/people/things crash/slam/smash >into each other>
    • to crash/smash/wreck a car
  2. 2wreck something (for somebody) to spoil something completely The weather wrecked all our plans. A serious injury nearly wrecked his career.
  3. 3[usually passive] wreck something to damage a ship so much that it sinks or can no longer sail The ship was wrecked off the coast of France. see shipwreck
See wreck in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
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