wreckage

noun

wreck·age ˈre-kij

Synonyms of wreckage

: the act of wrecking : the state of being wrecked

: something that has been wrecked

: broken and disordered parts or material from something wrecked

Examples of wreckage in a Sentence

Workers sifted through the wreckage of the building, searching for bodies. They cleared the wreckage from the track.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Still, the landowner had continued to find pieces of wreckage for years. — Kocha Olarn, CNN Money, 1 July 2026 Most homeowners’ policies won’t pay for wreckage done by a rodent. — Geoff Williams, USA Today, 30 June 2026 Throughout the wreckage, ordinary people were digging through fragments of brick and concrete with their bare hands, pulling out bodies. — Armando Ledezma, New Yorker, 30 June 2026 According to the operator, the pilot used a small clipboard to record load notes and fuel calculations, but that clipboard was not found in the wreckage, investigators said. — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for wreckage

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of wreckage was in 1837

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

wreck

wreckage

wrecker

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Wreckage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wreckage. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

wreckage

noun

wreck·age ˈrek-ij

: the act of wrecking

: the state of being wrecked

: the remains of a wreck

wreckage

noun

Synonyms of wreckage

Examples of wreckage in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster on wreckage

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perfunctory

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes