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

Gone were the linguistic train wrecks, but so too were many of the unique, highly sophisticated (and quirky) papers. —Martin Gutmann, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

For many of us in the industrial Midwest, this has been like watching a decades-long train wreck in slow motion. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024

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, Orlando Sentinel, 2 Dec. 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

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