1
as in wrecking
the destruction or loss of a ship
the shipwreck of much of the Spanish Armada ended Spain's plans for invading England
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2
as in disaster
something that has failed
finally admitted that their marriage was a shipwreck and that the time had come to bail out
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shipwreck
Scott Travers, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
First, twenty-four feet of Colonial-era infill, composed of gravel, silt, concrete, steel, bricks, and chunks of old shipwrecks and docks.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
Adrian: Adrian is a minor character in The Tempest who is shipwrecked on the island.
—Kara Nesvig, Parents, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shipwreck 
Noun
But re-sequencing genomes from older specimens that lived before the shipwreck has confirmed that the insects living on Ball’s Pyramid survived extinction on Lord Howe Island, according to an October 2017 study published in Current Biology.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
First, twenty-four feet of Colonial-era infill, composed of gravel, silt, concrete, steel, bricks, and chunks of old shipwrecks and docks.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Verb
The Democratic Party, particularly, is prone to shipwrecking on the shoals of unretiring seniors.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
Adrian: Adrian is a minor character in The Tempest who is shipwrecked on the island.
—Kara Nesvig, Parents, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shipwreck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shipwreck
Noun
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Whether it‘s picking apart the factors that led to the chain filing for bankruptcy (and the postmortem of its endless-shrimp disaster), recruiting top talent for his C-suite, or ensuring more restaurants don’t have to close, Adamolekun has plenty of issues to bait his temper.—
Chris Morris,
Fortune,
10 Feb. 2025
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The instructions are specific, including the creation of a 24/7 emergency directory of phone numbers, including potential community partners in case of disasters such as first responders, local health departments, and other potential support groups or individuals.—
Josh Klein,
New York Daily News,
9 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The powerful storm wrecked Tropicana Field, home to Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, rendering the stadium unplayable for this season and possibly longer.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Feb. 2025
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There's little doubt about next week being a 'climate emergency' with extreme cold—perhaps historical—wrecking the central United States.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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This is based partly on experience and partly on the drive failure data that Backblaze has been publishing for years now.—
Scott Gilbertson,
WIRED,
18 Feb. 2025
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Sensors capture physical parameters – such as temperature, vibration, or fluid flow – and process them locally to detect anomalies, predict equipment failures, and adjust workflows autonomously.—
Peter Bendor-Samuel,
Forbes,
18 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near shipwreck
Cite this Entry
“Shipwreck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shipwreck. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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