shipwreck

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The destruction of a ship at sea, when it sinks or runs aground.

   Many lives were lost in the shipwreck off the coast.

2. 2
   noun

   A ship that has sunk or been wrecked, or what remains of it.

   Divers discovered an ancient shipwreck on the seabed.

3. 3
   verb

   To cause a ship to be wrecked or sunk, usually used in the passive.

   They were shipwrecked on a deserted island for weeks.

From Middle English shipwrak, from Old English sċipwræc (“jetsam”), equivalent to ship + wrack. Cognate with Scots schip-wrak (“to shipwreck”, verb), Swedish skeppsvrak (“shipwreck”), Danish skibsvrag (“shipwreck”). Modern form is due to influence from wreck.

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