Accident or wreck? / myLot

Rockingham, Australia

January 18, 2026 2:19am CST

America and Australia share a language but we also have quite a few differences in the way we use words and expressions. One I’ve noticed is the word ‘wreck’. I’ve read remarks like ‘we were in a wreck’ or ‘following a wreck…’ . In Australia, we’d use ‘accident’ rather than ‘wreck’ saying ‘I had an accident’ or ‘I was in an accident’. If we said ‘the car was wrecked’, we’d mean it was totalled or a ‘write-off’. There are other examples of our differences, I’m sure. And perhaps our British friends might like to comment on how they'd describe car accidents/wreck.

14 people like this

14 responses

Anna

@LadyDuck (491006)

• Italy

10h

I would for sure use "accident", that is even a lot more similar to the Italian incidente. For me a wreck is something cast on the land by the sea, a shipwreck.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (369432)

• Rockingham, Australia

A wreck to me would be very bad; a total catastrophe.

1 person likes this

Anna

@LadyDuck (491006)

• Italy

@JudyEv - A wreck would be a car totally destroyed, a total catastrophe.

Max Crisp

@Orson_Kart (7892)

• United Kingdom

10h

As a born and bred Brit, I’m with you on this. A wreck would be a write-off. Be it a car or a ship as in “Wreck of the Titanic”. An accident could be minor or major.

2 people like this

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Anna

@LadyDuck (491006)

• Italy

@Orson_Kart Nice to see we agree on this.

1 person likes this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (369432)

• Rockingham, Australia

Yes, that's our usage of it too.

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Go Crossbones

@crossbones27 (52028)

• Mojave, California

12h

So you saying its like slang, do not ask America, they speak no slang anymore and British are always uptight. Dammit maybe I start ww3, but sure was fun.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (369432)

• Rockingham, Australia

11h

I wouldn't call it slang, just a different way of saying something.

Max Crisp

@Orson_Kart (7892)

• United Kingdom

10h

Who are you calling uptight?

3 people like this

Eva James

@wolfgirl569 (128082)

• Marion, Ohio

I have used both of those the same way. I say totaled if the vehicle is not savable

1 person likes this

LooeyVille

@LooeyVille (45)

• United States

11h

I was an insurance adjuster. It's a motor vehicle accident, MVA.

1 person likes this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (369432)

• Rockingham, Australia

Okay, thanks.

1 person likes this

Valentina

@valherma00 (644)

• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)

i also use a word accident more.

Amber

@AmbiePam (110368)

• United States

Honestly, we say both. It just differs on what day you catch us. I have noticed if it is really minor I without a doubt say accident. Come to think of it, I wonder if it depends on how bad the accident was that determines what word we use to describe it.

BarBaraPrz

@BarBaraPrz (51166)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

Here in Canada (at least Ontario) the police prefer the term "collision".

snowy

@snowy22315 (201532)

• United States

I would say here they are somewhat intechangeable.A wreck doen;t have to mean a total loss of a vehicle, that's a great pic by the way,

May2k8

@May2k8 (19558)

• Indonesia

The words that are commonly used are accidents, we rarely hear other words.

rebelann1949

@rebelann (115624)

• El Paso, Texas

Yes, I remember @jaboUK helping me understand what terms not to use when chatting with a Brit, it floored me because those terms here ment something completely different. Does your English differ much from Brit English?

Fiacre Banks

@xFiacre (14104)

• Ireland

@judyev Wreck sounds so brutal. Acciden is so much more of a polite way of saying it.

LindaOH

@LindaOHio (211074)

• United States

I always say accident. Fortunately I've never been in one. Have a great day.

Winterishere

@thedevilinme (4655)

• Northampton, England

I see the Scorchers made the top spot again in the BBL