ENGLISH
REFERENCE

wrack and ruin

idiom
Meaning

Complete destruction.


Origin

first recorded 16th c.

1577, as wracke and ruine, influenced by earlier go to wrecke (1548).

Examples
SIMPLE

The old house is falling into wrack and ruin.

CONTEXTUAL

After years of neglect, the once beautiful garden has fallen into total wrack and ruin.

COMPLEX

The abandoned factory stood as a haunting monument to the city's industrial past, slowly surrendering its structure to the inevitable forces of wrack and ruin.

Anchors to
Related idioms1entry
  1. 01

    rack and ruin

    Complete destruction.

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