shipwreck
shipwreck Lexical Profile
shipwreck Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The destruction or sinking of a ship at sea, as by a storm or collision, or the ruined remains of such a vessel.
"Marine archaeologists discovered a centuries-old shipwreck resting on the ocean floor."
Complete failure, ruin, or destruction of someone's hopes, plans, or endeavors.
"Poor financial planning led to the eventual shipwreck of their business venture."
• verb
To cause a ship or its crew to suffer destruction, sinking, or stranding at sea, or to undergo such a disaster.
"The sudden hurricane threatened to shipwreck the merchant fleet against the rocky coast."
To cause the complete ruin, failure, or destruction of a plan, career, or enterprise.
"Internal disagreements threatened to shipwreck the diplomatic negotiations before they even began."
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English as 'ship-wrak' (around the 15th century) by combining 'ship' with 'wrak' (meaning that which is driven ashore or ruined), displacing the earlier Old English term 'scipgebroc'.