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wreckage

wreckage

304 3.6
Broken parts that remain after something is badly damaged
  • noun
  • /ˈrɛkɪdʒ/
translation icon : restos
  • You always moved in a landscape of death, wreckage, cinders, and snow.
  • part of the wreckage
  • wreckage from the ship
  • pile up wreckage

One could argue that the our ability to find the diamond in the wreckage is a gift.

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Examples

  • A police helicopter flies over the burning wreckage of the fuel truck.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Emergency crews spent hours sifting through the wreckage hoping to recover any survivors from this tragic collision.

  • I flew over the wreckage and then came home with a heavy heart.

  • One could argue that the our ability to find the diamond in the wreckage is a gift.

  • The next thing you know, space is empty: only wreckage and silence are left.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • They helped pull survivors out of the wreckage.

  • David and Les survey the wreckage of the riot: broken sticks, newspapers, hats.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • But the water still snaked its way through the wreckage, downhill toward the riverbed.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The buzzing TIE fighters were gone, leaving nothing but bits of wreckage strewn across the landscape.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Emergency crews spent hours sifting through the wreckage hoping to recover any survivors from this tragic collision.

Synonyms

debris
vswreckage
302 4.1

Scattered broken pieces left after something is destroyed

is about parts remaining after severe destruction rather than scattered bits
ruin
vswreckage
147 3.1

The remains of a building left after it is destroyed

refers to pieces left after severe damage rather than the whole decayed structure
rubble
vswreckage
132 3.2

Broken pieces of stone or brick left after a building is destroyed

is broader, covering any remaining parts not limited to stone fragments
remains
vswreckage
86 3.6

Things left after the rest is used, eaten, or taken away

means parts left after severe damage not merely leftovers after use
detritus
vswreckage
9 8.2

Loose bits of waste and broken things left after damage or natural events

focuses on parts left after violent damage rather than slow natural breakdown

Antonyms

98 3.4

The act of returning something to its original state

How Destroyed

debris field
9 6.4
wreckage
304 3.6
damaged
1 1.1
intact
304 3.7

Surface Forms

wreckage singular
wreckages plural

Morphology

wreckage = wreck (semi-transparent) = wreck + age

The word is clearly built from 'wreck' + '-age', but the result meaning is a collective noun for the remains rather than a fully literal combination.

Etymology

The word wreckage comes from wreck + -age, with wreck once meaning a ship 'driven onto rocks' and smashed, as in a 'shipwreck'. So, wreckage is the parts left after something has been badly damaged.