wreckage

noun

wreck·​age ˈre-kij 

1

: the act of wrecking : the state of being wrecked

2

a

: something that has been wrecked

b

: broken and disordered parts or material from something wrecked

Synonyms

• annihilation
• decimation
• demolishment
• demolition
• desolation
• destruction
• devastation
• extermination
• extinction
• havoc
• loss
• mincemeat
• obliteration
• ruin
• ruination
• wastage

Examples of wreckage in a Sentence

Workers sifted through the wreckage of the building, searching for bodies.

They cleared the wreckage from the track.

Recent Examples on the Web

Alfaro, 30, set up shop early Monday at a Baptist church in southeast Oklahoma City, where residents sifted through debris and emergency responders worked to restore power and clear wreckage – even as rounds of thunderstorms barreled across the region. —Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024

Steve Ditko buries Spider-Man under tons of unmovable, sci-machinery and wreckage, a weight that seems far above even the wall-crawler’s powers to escape from. —Josh Weiss, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

Two hundred and seventeen bodies have been recovered so far from the wreckage left by the flooding, according to the Associated Press. —Kirsty Hatcher, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024

Dramatic footage from the scene showed rescuers working tirelessly to extract survivors and recover bodies from the wreckage. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wreckage

noun

wreck·​age ˈrek-ij 

1

a

: the act of wrecking

b

: the state of being wrecked

2

: the remains of a wreck