How to use shipwreck in a sentence

21 example sentences · noun, verb

Shipwreck means a ship that has sunk or run aground so that it is no longer seaworthy; a ruined vessel or its remains. Example: “After the shipwreck there was whisky galore to be had for the taking.”

Examples of shipwreck by meaning

nounA ship that has sunk or run aground so that it is no longer seaworthy; a ruined vessel or its remains.

Hundreds of shipwrecks line the Jersey coast, and many of them are close enough to reach with a long cast on a dead-low tide.2014, Nick Honachefsky, The Jersey Surf Diaries
The shipwreck is the earliest examples yet found of a propeller-driven steamship on the Great Lakes.2015 October 22, Michael Pearson, “153-year-old shipwreck found in Lake Ontario”, in CNN

nounAn event where a ship sinks or runs aground.

But now, ten years later, after his recent shipwreck, he cannot compete as a runner, though he can outthrow the slighter Phaeacians with the heaviest discus.2002, Eva Brann, Homeric Moments, page 48

More sentences with shipwreck

After the shipwreck there was whisky galore to be had for the taking.From the entry galore
After being shipwrecked on the island, we were in dire straits.From the entry dire straits
Treasure recovered from shipwrecks automatically becomes property of the Crown.From the entry crown
The buried treasure from the shipwreck was found yesterday.From the entry buried treasure
The survivors of the shipwreck quickly became hypothermic.From the entry hypothermic
Two of the three shipwrecks are diveable.From the entry diveable
Shipwrecks on tempest-tossed seas are featured in a number of other ballets and operas.2011, Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 404. From the entry tempest-tossed
Another surrounds certain Lusophobic mentalities which permeate Lewis' imagination of the shipwreck in The Isle of Devils.2010, Keith Sandiford, Theorizing a Colonial Caribbean-Atlantic Imaginary: Sugar and Obeah, Routledge, →ISBN. From the entry Lusophobic
I have drawn a shipwrecked boat, with dark waves crashing around it.2009 June 4, Cathy Cassidy, Shine On, Daizy Star, Penguin UK, →ISBN. From the entry kidsy
Technological disasters involve the misworks of man: shipwrecks, plane crashes, building collapses, toxic spills, nuclear reactor leaks.2008, Laurence Miller, Counseling Crime Victims, page 292. From the entry miswork
Indians who were enraged and dumbfounded at the Spaniards' barbarity, heathenhood, and moral shipwreck.2002, Reinaldo Arenas, Hallucinations. From the entry heathenhood
The shipwreck portends disaster for the body politic when error undoes the social fabric.1994, William J. Kennedy, “Authorizing Petrarch in England”, in Authorizing Petrarch, Cornell University Press, page 226. From the entry naufrageous
To the north is where the shipwreck occurred.1999 October 23, Paddy O’Connolly (username), “By What Authority Did Dr. Death Nuke Coos Bay????”, in sci.engr.coastal (Usenet). From the entry sequuntur
The shipwrecked group travelled by junk next day to Pingtan Island and four days later sailed to Hongkong.1957 March 15, “Shipwrecked”, in Peace News, number 1081, page 2. From the entry Pingtan
He drew melancholy comparisons from Nature: men were compared to wandering clouds that dissolve into nothing, to wavering shadows, and shipwrecked beings, etc.1905, Alfred Biese, The Development of the Feeling for Nature In the Middle Ages and Modern Times, page 34. From the entry hexameron
She said the nearest she could recall was when one of King Stephen's sentries got drunk on shipwreck brandy and fell through the murder hole, breaking his leg.2013, Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray, →ISBN, page 23. From the entry murder hole
His visits frequently included meetings with Tauketok, chief of the 18 tribes in the south where the shipwrecks took place and with whom he achieved a workable treaty.2012 December 18, Jerome Keating, “Book review: Notes of Travel in Formosa”, in Taipei Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on…. From the entry Foochow
European ambition was simply too far ahead of technology, and until better ships and better navigation were developed, shipwrecks and disappearances were a regular part of this new adventure.1997, Mark Kurlansky, “Chapter 3: The Cod Rush”, in Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, Walker, →ISBN. From the entry stockfish

Meaning of shipwreck

noun A ship that has sunk or run aground so that it is no longer seaworthy; a ruined vessel or its remains.
noun An event where a ship sinks or runs aground.
noun Destruction; disaster; failure; ruin; irretrievable loss.

Full definition of shipwreck

Questions about shipwreck in a sentence

How do you use shipwreck in a sentence?: Shipwreck is used as a noun and verb. For example: “After the shipwreck there was whisky galore to be had for the taking.”
What is a short sentence with shipwreck?: “Two of the three shipwrecks are diveable.”
What does shipwreck mean?: Shipwreck means a ship that has sunk or run aground so that it is no longer seaworthy; a ruined vessel or its remains.

Adapted from Wiktionary: shipwreck (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use shipwreck in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/shipwreck. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.