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

Due to the marshy terrain, much of the plane was underwater, and officials had to make their way to the wreckage by airboat. —Latoya Gayle, People.com, 5 Apr. 2025

Video Crews searched through wreckage after a tornado hit Selmer. —The New York Times, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025

The book revealed the emotional wreckage that lay just beneath the seductive, glittering surface of a certain sector of France’s progressive cultural élite. —Leslie Camhi, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025

The state agency released video on social media of troopers responding to tornado reports, searching through the wreckage of a flattened home near Selmer, a small city just north of Mississippi, which took a direct hit. —Christopher Cann, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025

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