train wreck

noun

variants or less commonly trainwreck

ˈtrān-ˌrek 

plural train wrecks also trainwrecks

1

: a violent and destructive crash involving a train

2

: an utter disaster or mess : a disastrous calamity or source of trouble

Six months later, with Washington facing a political train wreck in Iraq, whom did it call? The United Nations.

—Fareed Zakaria

The train wreck that was Florence Ballard could not be hidden anymore. … Those shows went on without a hitch, but with Ballard progressively drinking harder, disaster awaited them as they trekked from Miami to play several college dates across the South.

—Mark Ballard

… to create what is termed on Capitol Hill a train wreck—a budget crisis so awful that the President would have to seriously negotiate, and yield on taxes.

—Elizabeth Drew

Examples of train wreck in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet for as mid as the Big 12 has looked, top to bottom, where parity rules and shutdown corners are rare, the Mountain West is a train wreck. —Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 29 Nov. 2024

Mascots: Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence Photo: Todd Williamson/Getty Images Unlike the Schadenfreude-laden train wrecks of the Bush years, the stars of the Obama era were charming, self-deprecating, and somehow more real. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 Aug. 2024

The bottom line is the Giants offense is a train wreck. —Charlotte Carroll, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024

That’s why, even as Sunday’s 14-3 blowout loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field began to slip off the rails, manager Dave Roberts did little to stop the train wreck. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

train wreck

noun

1

: a violent and destructive crash involving a train

2

: an utter disaster or mess