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
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
Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 29 May 2025
Dive historic shipwrecks, sail past gorgeous rock formations, and wade in shimmering pools of clear blue water.
—AFAR Media, 23 May 2025
Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2025
Historical sources had recorded that two Danish slave vessels were shipwrecked off the coast of Central America in 1710: The Fridericus Quartus was set on fire, while the anchor rope of the Christianus Quintus was cut and the ship was swept away.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for shipwreck
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Noun
The remains were identified as belonging to Henry Goodsell, a captain who died in an 1844 shipwreck off the coast of South Jersey's Brigantine Shoal.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 29 May 2025
Dive historic shipwrecks, sail past gorgeous rock formations, and wade in shimmering pools of clear blue water.
—AFAR Media, 23 May 2025
Verb
The 18th-century vessels were shipwrecked in 1710, and archaeologists only recently discovered that the ships – long believed to be pirate ships – were used to transport slaves.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2025
Historical sources had recorded that two Danish slave vessels were shipwrecked off the coast of Central America in 1710: The Fridericus Quartus was set on fire, while the anchor rope of the Christianus Quintus was cut and the ship was swept away.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for shipwreck
Cite this Entry
“Shipwreck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shipwreck. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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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