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 conversation is a slow-motion train wreck written in the direction of Trump. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 2 Mar. 2025

Those possibilities, though, appear severely threatened after old tweets of Gascón’s led her to issue an apology Thursday — the latest setback in an Oscar campaign that’s veering close to becoming a train wreck. —Jake Coyle, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2025

There were no train wrecks, although Bill Murray’s seemingly improvised schtick and a messy Post Malone/Nirvana crossover episode fell short of expectations. —Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Feb. 2025

The show actually being watchable after last year’s train wreck? —Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for train wreck

• aztec
• breakneck
• codec
• exec
• mixtec
• paycheck
• pinchbeck
• recheck
• redneck
• toltec
• beck
• breck

Kids Definition

train wreck

noun

1

: a violent and destructive crash involving a train

2

: an utter disaster or mess