shipwreck

1 of 2

noun

ship·​wreck ˈship-ˌrek 

1

: a wrecked ship or its parts

2

: the destruction or loss of a ship

3

: an irretrievable loss or failure

shipwreck

2 of 2

verb

shipwrecked; shipwrecking; shipwrecks

transitive verb

1

a

: to cause to experience shipwreck

b

: ruin

2

: to destroy (a ship) by grounding or foundering

Synonyms

Noun

• shipwrecking
• wreck
• wreckage
• wrecking

Verb

• strand
• wreck

Examples of shipwreck in a Sentence

Noun

Only a few sailors survived the shipwreck.

The crew narrowly avoided shipwreck.

Divers searched the sunken shipwreck.

Verb

the yachtsman fell asleep at the wheel and shipwrecked his ketch on the rocks

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After taking in Kenza, a little girl who survived a shipwreck, the three women each begin to question their place in this blended family and in a country in crisis. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2024

During a recent expedition to the Titanic shipwreck, explorers discovered that part of the vessel’s iconic bow-deck railing had broken off, People reported on Tuesday. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2024

Verb

Meanwhile, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English sailor, ends up shipwrecked and finds himself at the epicenter of Toranaga’s troubles. —Yasmeen Hamadeh, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2024

The focus of a San Diego Comic-Con panel over the weekend, director Chris Sanders‘ The Wild Robot follows the misadventures of a robot known as Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) learning to connect with animals after getting shipwrecked on a remote island. —Anita Little, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun

alteration of earlier shipwrack, from Middle English schipwrak, from Old English scipwræc, from scip ship + wræc something driven by the sea — more at wrack

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

shipwreck

1 of 2 noun

ship·​wreck -ˌrek 

1

: a wrecked ship

2

: the destruction or loss of a ship

shipwreck

2 of 2 verb

1

: to cause to experience shipwreck

a storm that shipwrecked the sailors

2

: to destroy (a ship) by driving ashore or sinking