wreak

verb

wreaked; wreaking; wreaks

transitive verb

1
: bring about, cause
wreak havoc
2
a
: to cause the infliction of (vengeance or punishment)
b
archaic : avenge
3
: to give free play or course to (malevolent feeling)

Did you know?

In its early days, wreak was synonymous with avenge, a meaning exemplified when Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus proclaims "We will solicit heaven, and move the gods / To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs." This sense is now archaic, but the association hasn't been lost: although wreak is today most often paired with havoc, it is also still sometimes paired with vengeance. We humbly suggest you avoid wreaking either, no matter how badly you may crave your just deserts.

Examples of wreak in a Sentence

Gangs have been wreaking mayhem in the city.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Even after hours of fast traveling, horseback riding, and slowly jogging from point A to point B, there were more quests to find, gear to loot, and havoc to wreak. PC Magazine, 22 May 2025 Since coming to Detroit a year ago, he’s seen the havoc that bad management and production decisions wreaked on Jeep and Ram, Stellantis’ biggest moneymakers. Mark Phelan, USA Today, 20 May 2025 To be fair, that is all particularly enhanced by a movie whose entire engine (and marketing) is fueled by a critter that wreaks mayhem and destruction at every turn. Brandon Yu, New York Times, 20 May 2025 Despite the economic chaos wreaked by the Trump administration’s unilateral imposition of tariffs on trading partners, first unleashed on April 2, the European Union has sizable leverage on trade. Arancha González Laya, Foreign Affairs, 12 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for wreak

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wreken "to drive out, avenge, vent, express (anger, etc.)," going back to Old English wrecan "to press forward, drive out, banish, avenge, punish," going back to Germanic *wrekan- "to drive out, pursue" (whence Old Saxon wrekan "to avenge," Old High German rehhan, Old Norse reka "to drive, thrust, take vengeance," Gothic wrikan "to persecute"), of uncertain origin

Note: Placed by some under Indo-European *u̯reg- "follow a track" (whence, allegedly, Sanskrit vrajant- "wandering," Latin urgēre "to press, weigh down"), though the semantic relations between compared forms are not close.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Time Traveler
The first known use of wreak was before the 12th century

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Cite this Entry

“Wreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wreak. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

wreak

verb
: to bring down in or as if in punishment
wreak revenge on the enemy
the storm wreaked destruction

More from Merriam-Webster on wreak

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