Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Shipwreck \Ship"wreck`\, n.
   1. The breaking in pieces, or shattering, of a ship or other
      vessel by being cast ashore or driven against rocks,
      shoals, etc., by the violence of the winds and waves.

   2. A ship wrecked or destroyed upon the water, or the parts
      of such a ship; wreckage. --Dryden.

   3. Fig.: Destruction; ruin; irretrievable loss.

            Holding faith and a good conscience, which some
            having put away concerning faith have made
            shipwreck.                            --1 Tim. 1.
                                                  19.

            It was upon an Indian bill that the late ministry
            had made shipwreck.                   --J. Morley.

Shipwreck \Ship"wreck`\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Shipwrecked}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Shipwrecking}.]
   1. To destroy, as a ship at sea, by running ashore or on
      rocks or sandbanks, or by the force of wind and waves in a
      tempest.

            Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break.
                                                  --Shak.

   2. To cause to experience shipwreck, as sailors or
      passengers. Hence, to cause to suffer some disaster or
      loss; to destroy or ruin, as if by shipwreck; to wreck;
      as, to shipwreck a business. --Addison.

Source : WordNet®

shipwreck
     n 1: a wrecked ship (or a part of one)
     2: an irretrievable loss; "that was the shipwreck of their
        romance"
     3: an accident that destroys a ship at sea [syn: {wreck}]

shipwreck
     v 1: ruin utterly; "You have shipwrecked my career"
     2: suffer failure, as in some enterprise
     3: cause to experience shipwreck; "They were shipwrecked in one
        of the mysteries at sea"
     4: destroy a ship; "The vessel was shipwrecked"