Added 10 October 2026
shipwreck
/ˈʃɪpɹɛk/ noun
In Latin: naufragium Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shipwreck at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
verb
-
Ruin utterly.
You have shipwrecked my career
- Suffer failure, as in some enterprise.
-
Cause to experience shipwreck.
They were shipwrecked in one of the mysteries at sea
Origin
From Middle English schipwrak, from Old English sċipwræc (“jetsam”), equivalent to ship + wrack. Cognate with Scots schip-wrak (“to shipwreck”, verb), Dutch scheepswrak (“shipwreck”), German Schiffswrack (“shipwreck”), Swedish skeppsvrak (“shipwreck”), Danish skibsvrag (“shipwreck”). Modern form is due to influence from wreck.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)