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Definition of wreck noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

wreck

noun
 
/rek/
 
/rek/
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  1. a ship that has sunk or that has been very badly damaged
    • They're going to try and raise the wreck from the seabed.
    see also shipwreck
    Extra Examples
    • Heavy seas prevented salvage teams from landing on the wreck.
    • They are worried about the oil still in the wreck.
    • the wreck of the Titanic
    Topics Transport by waterc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + wreck
    • discover
    • find
    • locate
    preposition
    • in a/​the wreck
    • on a/​the wreck
    • wreck of
    See full entry
  2. a car, plane, etc. that has been very badly damaged in an accident
    • Two passengers are still trapped in the wreck.
    • She was pulled from the burning wreck by firefighters.
    Synonyms crashcrashslam collide smash wreckThese are all words that can be used when something, especially a vehicle, hits something else very hard and is damaged or destroyed.crash 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 (rather formal) (of two vehicles or people) to crash into each other; (of a vehicle or person) to crash into somebody/​something else:
    • The car and the van collided head-on in thick fog.
    smash (rather informal) to crash into something with a lot of force; to make something do this; to crash a car:
    • Ram-raiders smashed a stolen car through the shop window.
    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. wreck to crash a vehicle and damage it so badly that it is not worth repairingPatterns
    • two vehicles crash/​collide
    • two vehicles crash/​slam/​smash into each other
    • to crash/​smash/​wreck a car
    Extra Examples
    • (figurative) The campaign is a train wreck waiting to happen.
    • The wreck occurred at milepost 534, just west of Greenup, Kentucky.
    • His attempts at damage control are like watching a car wreck.
    • Explosions ripped through the blazing wreck.
    Topics Transport by car or lorryc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • car
    • train
    verb + wreck
    • cause
    • survive
    phrases
    • like watching a car wreck
    • like watching a train wreck
    • a train wreck waiting to happen
    See full entry
  3. [usually singular] (informal) a person who is in a bad physical or mental condition
    • Physically, I was a total wreck.
    • The experience left her an emotional wreck.
    • The interview reduced him to a nervous wreck.
    Extra Examples
    • I hadn't slept for two days, and I felt a complete physical wreck.
    • I always turn into a gibbering wreck at interviews.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • absolute
    • complete
    • total
    verb + wreck
    • feel
    • look
    • reduce somebody to
    See full entry
  4. (informal) a vehicle, building, etc. that is in very bad condition
    • The house was a wreck when we bought it.
    • (figurative) They still hoped to salvage something from the wreck of their marriage.
    Topics Buildingsc2
  5. (North American English)
    (also crash British and North American English)
    an accident in which a vehicle hits something, for example another vehicle, usually causing damage and often injuring or killing the passengers
    • a car/train wreck
  6. Word OriginMiddle English (as a legal term denoting wreckage washed ashore): from Anglo-Norman French wrec, from the base of Old Norse reka ‘to drive’; related to wreak.
See wreck in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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