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

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

If North Dakota State was a mixed bag, Nebraska was a train wreck. —Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2024

In what became a five-run disaster for the Dodgers, the right-handed reliever simply made the train wreck complete. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 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