wreck

English

Etymology

Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrec, from Old Norse *wrek (Norwegian and Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak), from Proto-Germanic, from Proto-Indo-European. Distantly related to wreak.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɹɛk/, X-SAMPA: /"rEk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛk

Noun

wreck (plural wrecks)

1. Something or someone that has been ruined.
2. The remains of something that has been severely damaged or worn down.
3. An event in which something is damaged through collision.

Synonyms

• crash
• ruins

Derived terms

• shipwreck

Translations

ruined object or person

• Finnish: raunio (fi), ihmisraunio (fi)
• French: épave (fr) f
• German: Wrack (de) n, Schrott (de) m, Schrotthaufen (de) m, Schrottkiste (de) f

• Spanish: cacharro (es) m, trasto (es) m
• Swedish: vrak (sv) n

remains

• Czech: vrak (cs) m
• Finnish: romu (fi), raato (fi), jäännökset (fi), hylky (fi)
• French: carcasse (fr) f
• German: Wrack (de) n

• Hungarian: roncs
• Italian: carcassa (it) f, relitto (it) m
• Norwegian: vrak (no) n
• Serbo-Croatian: òlupina (sh) f

collision

• Arabic: تصادم (taʂāddum) m
• Bulgarian: авария (bg) (aváriya) f
• Chinese: 碰撞 (pèngzhuàng)
• Dutch: botsing (nl) f
• Finnish: törmäys (fi), yhteentörmäys (fi), kolari (fi)
• French: accident (fr) m
• German: Zusammenstoß (de) m
• Hebrew: גרוטאה (he) f

• Hungarian: karambol (hu)
• Italian: collisione (it) f
• Japanese: 残がい (ざんがい, zangai)
• Korean: 충돌 (chungdol)
• Portuguese: choque (pt) m
• Russian: авария (ru) (avárija) f
• Spanish: choque (es) m
• Swedish: sammanstötning c

Verb

wreck (third-person singular simple present wrecks, present participle wrecking, simple past and past participle wrecked)

1. To cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless.

   (Usage: A collision is often implied as the cause of the damage - "He wrecked the car")

2. To ruin or dilapidate.
3. To dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts. (Australia)

Antonyms

• restore (2)

Derived terms

• bewreck
• wrecker
• wreckage

Translations

to cause severe damage

• Dutch: beschadigen (nl)
• Finnish: tuhota (fi), särkeä (fi), romuttaa (fi)

• Greek: καταστρέφω (el) (katastréfo)

to ruin

• Dutch: ruïneren (nl),verwoesten (nl)
• Finnish: tuhota (fi), särkeä (fi)

• Greek: καταστρέφω (el) (katastréfo)
• Hungarian: rombol (hu)

to dismantle wrecked objects

• Dutch: ontmantelen (nl)

• Finnish: romuttaa (fi)