wreck
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
wreck
- /ˈɹɛk/
- /ˈɹæk/ dialectal, obsolete
Rhymes with -ɛk
Where it comes from
From Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrek, from Old Norse *wrek (whence Norwegian rek, Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vrag), from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną (“to pursue”, whence Old English wrecan (English wreak), Old Saxon wrekan, Old High German rëhhan, Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan)), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track; to hunt; to follow”).
noun wrecks
- Something or someone that has been ruined. He was an emotional wreck after the death of his wife.
- The remains of something that has been severely damaged or worn down. To the fair haven of my native home, / The vvreck of vvhat I was, fatigued I come, […]
- An event in which something is damaged through collision. Hard and obſtinate, / As is a rocke amidſt the raging floods: / gaynſt vvhich a ſhip of ſuccour deſolate, / doth ſuffer vvreck both of her ſelfe and goods.
- A shipwreck: an event in which a ship is heavily damaged or destroyed.
- Goods, etc. cast ashore by the sea after a shipwreck. 2. ... Wreck includes the cargo, stores and tackle of a vessel and all parts of a vessel separated from the vessel, and the property of persons who belong to, are on board or have quitted a vessel that is wrecked, stranded or in distress at any place in Canada.
- A large number of birds that have been brought to the ground, injured or dead, by extremely adverse weather. [I]n 1952 more than 7,000 were involved in such a "wreck" in Britain and Ireland.
verb wrecks · wrecking · wrecked
- To destroy violently; to cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless. He wrecked the car in a collision.
- To ruin or dilapidate.
- To plunder goods from wrecked ships.
- To dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts.
- To involve in a wreck; hence, to cause to suffer ruin; to balk of success, and bring disaster on. Weak and envy'd, if they should conspire, / They wreck themselves, and he hath his Desire.
- To be involved in a wreck; to be damaged or destroyed. […] Mrs. Marleen Ketchum was not quite certain if the train wrecked or if the volcano blew its top. It took a moment before she was certain it had to be the passenger train.
