wreckage

noun

wreck·​age ˈre-kij How to pronounce wreckage (audio)
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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 See all Example Sentences for wreckage 

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wreckage was in 1837

Dictionary Entries Near wreckage

Cite this Entry

“Wreckage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wreckage. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

wreckage

noun
wreck·​age ˈrek-ij How to pronounce wreckage (audio)
1
a
: the act of wrecking
b
: the state of being wrecked
2
: the remains of a wreck

More from Merriam-Webster on wreckage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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