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wrecker

 - 2 dictionary results

wreck⋅er

[rek-er]
–noun
1. a person or thing that wrecks.
2. a person, car, or train employed in removing wreckage, debris, etc., as from railroad tracks.
3. Also called tow car, tow truck. a vehicle equipped with a mechanical apparatus for hoisting and pulling, used to tow wrecked, disabled, or stalled automobiles.
4. Also called housewrecker. a person whose business it is to demolish and remove houses or other buildings, as in clearing sites for other use.
5. a person or vessel employed in recovering salvage from wrecked or disabled vessels.
6. a person who plunders wrecks, esp. after exhibiting false signals in order to cause shipwrecks.

Origin:
1795–1805; wreck + -er 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wrecker
wreck·er   (rěk'ər)   
n.  
  1. One that wrecks or destroys: a wrecker of dreams.

    1. One who is in the business of demolishing old buildings.

    2. One who dismantles cars for salvage.

    3. A person, vehicle, or piece of equipment employed in recovering or removing wrecks, especially a truck with a hoist and towing apparatus used in towing disabled or wrecked vehicles.

    4. One that salvages wrecked cargo or parts.

    5. One who lures a vessel to destruction, as by a display of lights on a rocky coastline, in order to plunder it.

    6. A plunderer.

    1. A person, vehicle, or piece of equipment employed in recovering or removing wrecks, especially a truck with a hoist and towing apparatus used in towing disabled or wrecked vehicles.

    2. One that salvages wrecked cargo or parts.

    3. One who lures a vessel to destruction, as by a display of lights on a rocky coastline, in order to plunder it.

    4. A plunderer.

    1. One who lures a vessel to destruction, as by a display of lights on a rocky coastline, in order to plunder it.

    2. A plunderer.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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