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

wreck

verb
 
/rek/
 
/rek/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they wreck
 
/rek/
 
/rek/
he / she / it wrecks
 
/reks/
 
/reks/
past simple wrecked
 
/rekt/
 
/rekt/
past participle wrecked
 
/rekt/
 
/rekt/
-ing form wrecking
 
/ˈrekɪŋ/
 
/ˈrekɪŋ/
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  1. wreck something to damage or destroy something
    • A bomb completely wrecked the building.
    • The building had been wrecked by the explosion.
    • The road was littered with wrecked cars.
    • youths who steal and wreck fast cars
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • completely
    • totally
    • almost
    verb + wreck
    • try to
    • want to
    • threaten to
    See full entry
  2. wreck something to cause something to fail completely
    • The weather wrecked all our plans.
    • A serious injury nearly wrecked his career.
    Extra Examples
    • Their lives had been wrecked by neglect and abuse.
    • His affair wrecked our marriage.
    • A serious injury in 2006 threatened to wreck his career.
    • a crisis that threatens to wreck the peace talks
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • completely
    • totally
    • almost
    verb + wreck
    • try to
    • want to
    • threaten to
    See full entry
  3. [usually passive] to damage a ship so much that it sinks or can no longer sail
    • be wrecked The ship was wrecked off the coast of France.
    see also shipwreck
  4. 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
trait
noun
 
 
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