Definition

Noun: 1. A person or vehicle whose job is to remove damaged or illegally parked vehicles: A wrecker is a truck equipped with special machinery (like a crane or winch) to tow away cars that have been in an accident or are parked illegally. 2. A person who deliberately causes destruction or ruin: A wrecker is someone who sabotages or deliberately causes the failure or destruction of something, such as a plan, project, or ship. 3. A person whose job is to demolish buildings: A wrecker is a worker who tears down or dismantles old structures.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Vehicle/Job):
  • After the car accident, a wrecker arrived to tow the vehicles away.
  • My car was parked in a tow-away zone, so I had to pay a fine to get it back from the wrecker lot.
• Noun (Saboteur):
  • The spy was accused of being a wrecker who sabotaged the peace negotiations.
  • He was seen as a wrecker of the company's morale, always spreading negativity.
• Noun (Demolition Worker):
  • The team of wreckers began demolishing the old factory on Monday.
  • He worked as a wrecker before becoming a construction manager.

Advanced Usage

• "Wrecker's ball": A heavy metal ball swung from a crane to demolish buildings. (Note: More commonly called a "wrecking ball").
  • The old stadium was brought down by a wrecker's ball.

Variants and Related Words

• Wreck (verb/noun): To cause the destruction of something / The remains of something destroyed.
  • The storm wrecked the harbor. / Divers explored the wreck of the ship.
• Wreckage (noun): The scattered fragments of something that has been wrecked.
  • The wreckage of the plane was found in the mountains.
• Wrecking (noun/adj): The act or business of demolishing.
  • He owns a wrecking company. / The wrecking crew finished the job quickly.

Synonyms

• For vehicle/tow truck: tow truck, recovery vehicle.
• For saboteur: saboteur, vandal, destroyer, spoiler.
• For demolition worker: demolisher, demolition worker, dismantler.

Related Phrases

• "Wrecker's yard" (chiefly British) / "Junkyard" or "scrapyard" (more common in American English): A place where old, damaged, or discarded vehicles are stored and often dismantled for parts.
  • We found a replacement door for the classic car at the wrecker's yard.

Noun

1. a truck equipped to hoist and pull wrecked cars (or to remove cars from no-parking zones)
2. someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks
3. someone who demolishes or dismantles buildings as a job