Phrase guide

wrecking ball

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is swung to demolish large structures.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, construction, manufacturing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: demolition ball

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: كُرَة اَلتَّحْطِيم — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Catalan: bola de demolició — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Catalan: bola d'enderroc — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Chinese Mandarin: 破壞球 /破坏球 (pòhuàiqiú) — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Czech: bourací koule — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Dutch: sloopkogel — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Faroese: niðurrívingarkúla — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Finnish: murskauspallo — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Finnish: purkupallo — heavy ball used for demolition
  • French: boule de démolition — heavy ball used for demolition
  • French: boulet de démolition — heavy ball used for demolition
  • German: Abrissbirne — heavy ball used for demolition
  • German: Abbruchbirne — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Icelandic: niðurrifskúla — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Korean: 렉킹 볼 (rek'king bol) — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Polish: kula stalowa — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Portuguese: bola de demolição — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Russian: шарово́й тара́н (šarovój tarán) — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Spanish: bola de demolición — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Swedish: rivningskula — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Turkish: yıkım güllesi — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Turkish: yıkım topu — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Uzbek: buzuvchi toʻp — heavy ball used for demolition
  • Vietnamese: quả văng — heavy ball used for demolition