Definition of 'wreak'
Word forms: wreaks, wreaking, wreakedlanguage note: Some people use the form wrought as the past tense and past participle of wreak, but many people consider this to be wrong.
transitive verb
Something or someone that wreaks havoc or destruction causes a great amount of disorder or damage.
[literary, journalism]
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
wreak in American English
verb transitive
2.
to inflict (vengeance), cause (harm or havoc), etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
wreaker (ˈwreaker)
noun
Word origin
ME wreken < OE wrecan, to revenge, punish, akin to Ger rächen, Goth wrikan < IE base *wreg-, to shove, oppress, hunt down, L urgere, to press, urgeWord Frequency
wreak in British English
verb (transitive)
▶ USAGE See note at wrought3. archaic
to take vengeance for
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
wreaker (ˈwreaker) noun
Word origin
Old English wrecan; related to Old Frisian wreka, Old High German rehhan (German rächen), Old Norse reka, Latin urgēre to push
Examples of 'wreak' in a sentence
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In other languages
wreak
British English: wreak
VERB /riːk/
Something or someone that wreaks havoc or destruction causes a great amount of disorder or damage.
Violent storms wreaked havoc on the coast, leaving dozens injured.
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Related terms of
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Definition of wreak from the Collins English Dictionary
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