shipwreck
n. C / Un. the remains of a ship that has been destroyed or sunk at sea. It can also mean the accident itself when a ship is lost.
n. the destruction of a ship at sea by sinking or breaking up; also refers to the physical remains of a vessel after such an event.
Divers found gold coins inside the old shipwreck.
The museum features a large collection of artifacts recovered from a 17th-century shipwreck off the coast.
Marine archaeologists spent years mapping the shipwreck to understand how the vessel had been constructed before it succumbed to the violent storm.
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.
Countable when referring to the physical remains or a specific event; uncountable when referring to the general state of being wrecked.