shipwreck
/ˈʃɪpɹɛk/
shipwreck noun: a ship that has sunk or run aground so that it is no longer seaworthy; a ruined vessel or its remains.
Noun
shipwreck (countable and uncountable, plural shipwrecks)
- A ship that has sunk or run aground so that it is no longer seaworthy; a ruined vessel or its remains.
- heaven will drive shipwrecks ashore to make us all rich1670, John Dryden, William D'Avenant, The Tempest
- Blackfishing from the beach. I've done my research. 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. These wrecks hold tautog, porgies, sea bass, flounder.2014, Nick Honachefsky, The Jersey Surf Diaries
- An event where a ship sinks or runs aground.
- they made the coast of Cochin China, and the tempests, which rose at the same time, threatened them more than once with shipwreck1688, John Dryden, The Life of St Francis Xavier
- 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
- Destruction; disaster; failure; ruin; irretrievable loss.
- Holding faith and a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy 1:19
- It was upon an Indian bill that the late ministry had made shipwreck.1879, John Morley, Burke
Verb
shipwreck (third-person singular simple present shipwrecks, present participle shipwrecking, simple past and past participle shipwrecked)
shipwreck meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu
shipwreck in Hindi
- shipwreck
- पोतभंग potbhaṅg
shipwreck in Tamil
- shipwreck
- கப்பற்சேதம் kappaṟcētam
shipwreck in Bengali
- জাহাজডুবি, ধ্বংসপ্রাপ্ত জাহাজ
shipwreck in Telugu
- నౌక శిథిలం, నౌక కుప్పకూలడం
More languagesFewer languages
- shipwreck in Malayalam
- കപ്പൽ ചേതപ്പെടുത്തുക, നശിപ്പിക്കുക, കപ്പലപകടം, കപ്പൽചേതം
- shipwreck in Kannada
- ನೌಕಾಘಾತ, ನೌಕಾನಾಶ, ನೌಕಾಭಂಗ, ಹಡಗು ಒಡೆತ
- shipwreck in Punjabi
- ਸਮੁੰਦਰੀ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ਟੁੱਟਣਾ, ਜਹਾਜ਼ ਟੁੱਟਣਾ, ਸਮੁੰਦਰੀ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ਟੁੱਟਣ
- shipwreck in Gujarati
- જહાજનો ભંગાર, વહાણનો ભંગાર, વહાણનું ભંગાણ
- shipwreck in Odia
- ଜାହାଜ ଭଙ୍ଗା, ଜାହାଜ ଭାଙ୍ଗିବା
- shipwreck in Nepali
- जहाज भग्नावशेष
- shipwreck in Arabic
- حُطَام سَفِينَة ḥuṭām safīna
Examples of shipwreck in a sentence
- After the shipwreck there was whisky galore to be had for the taking.
- After being shipwrecked on the island, we were in dire straits.
- Treasure recovered from shipwrecks automatically becomes property of the Crown.
Forms of shipwreck
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | shipwrecks |
| alternative form (obsolete) | shipwrack |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | shipwrecks |
| present participle | shipwrecking |
| past participle | shipwrecked |
| past | shipwrecked |
Origin of shipwreck
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.
Words formed from shipwreck
Questions about shipwreck
- 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.
- What is shipwreck in Hindi?
- Shipwreck in Hindi is पोतभंग (potbhaṅg). See Shipwreck meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is shipwreck?
- Shipwreck can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce shipwreck?
- Shipwreck is pronounced /ˈʃɪpɹɛk/.
- What is the plural of shipwreck?
- The plural of shipwreck is shipwrecks.
Words near shipwreck in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shipwreck (page history and authors); पोतभंग (Hindi) (page history and authors); கப்பற்சேதம் (Tamil) (page history and authors); shipwreck (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); shipwreck (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); shipwreck (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); shipwreck (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); shipwreck (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); shipwreck (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); shipwreck (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); shipwreck (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-shipwreck.wav.
Cite this entry: “shipwreck.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shipwreck. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.