Definition Definition

shipwreck - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'shipwreck' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Shipwreck [ n.]
- The breaking in pieces, or shattering, of a ship or other vessel by being cast ashore or driven against rocks, shoals, etc., by the violence of the winds and waves.
- A ship wrecked or destroyed upon the water, or the parts of such a ship; wreckage.
- Fig.: Destruction; ruin; irretrievable loss.
2 . Shipwreck [ v. t.]
- To destroy, as a ship at sea, by running ashore or on rocks or sandbanks, or by the force of wind and waves in a tempest.
- To cause to experience shipwreck, as sailors or passengers. Hence, to cause to suffer some disaster or loss; to destroy or ruin, as if by shipwreck; to wreck; as, to shipwreck a business.

Meaning of 'shipwreck' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . shipwreck [ n]
Meaning (1):
- an irretrievable loss
Example in sentence:
  • that was the shipwreck of their romance
2 . shipwreck [ v]
Meaning (2):
- destroy a ship
Example in sentence:
  • The vessel was shipwrecked
Meaning (3):
- cause to experience shipwreck
Example in sentence:
  • They were shipwrecked in one of the mysteries at sea
Meaning (4):
- ruin utterly
Example in sentence:
  • You have shipwrecked my career