ship·wreck
ˈship-ˌrek 
1
: a wrecked ship or its parts
2
: the destruction or loss of a ship
3
: an irretrievable loss or failure
shipwrecked; shipwrecking; shipwrecks
1
a
: to cause to experience shipwreck
b
: ruin
2
: to destroy (a ship) by grounding or foundering
Synonyms
Examples of shipwreck in a Sentence
Noun
Only a few sailors survived the shipwreck.
The crew narrowly avoided shipwreck.
Divers searched the sunken shipwreck.
Verb
the yachtsman fell asleep at the wheel and shipwrecked his ketch on the rocks
Recent Examples on the Web
Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
Lay’s Auctioneers is offering up the coal—along with thousands of other artifacts connected to nearly 150 shipwrecks—during a sale that starts on November 6.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
Kara Nesvig, Parents, 14 Oct. 2024
The movie is based on Peter Brown’s beloved bestseller about a robot nicknamed ROZ who forms an unexpected bond with an orphaned gosling and other creatures after being shipwrecked on a lonely island.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shipwreck 
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Noun
There is something almost dangerously tantalizing about an undiscovered shipwreck.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
Lay’s Auctioneers is offering up the coal—along with thousands of other artifacts connected to nearly 150 shipwrecks—during a sale that starts on November 6.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
Adrian: Adrian is a minor character in The Tempest who is shipwrecked on the island.
—Kara Nesvig, Parents, 14 Oct. 2024
The movie is based on Peter Brown’s beloved bestseller about a robot nicknamed ROZ who forms an unexpected bond with an orphaned gosling and other creatures after being shipwrecked on a lonely island.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shipwreck
Dictionary Entries Near shipwreck
Cite this Entry
“Shipwreck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shipwreck. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shipwreck
1 of 2 noun
ship·wreck
-ˌrek
1
: a wrecked ship
2
: the destruction or loss of a ship
shipwreck
2 of 2 verb1
: to cause to experience shipwreck
a storm that shipwrecked the sailors
2
: to destroy (a ship) by driving ashore or sinking
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