wrecking ball

noun

: a heavy iron or steel ball swung or dropped by a derrick to demolish old buildings

called also wrecker's ball

Examples of wrecking ball in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Proponents of a growing movement in the construction industry are asking: Why tear down old buildings with wrecking balls when those materials can be mined for reusable materials? —Rae Solomon, NPR, 13 June 2025

To say that Trump’s executive order is a wrecking ball is to vastly understate its scope and impact. —Paisley Currah, New Yorker, 27 May 2025

Soon after the Truman Sports Complex opened in 1972, the wrecking ball leveled Municipal Stadium completely.. For years, a large community garden was the site’s only occupant. —Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2025

And there are even people in Downing Street who quite envies the idea of taking a Musk-style wrecking ball to parts of the state; Health Secretary Wes Streeting recently abolished one of the main administrative levels of the National Health Service in an overnight raid. —Jim Waterson, semafor.com, 6 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wrecking ball

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• catarrhal
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol