英式发音：/ˈrek.ɪŋ ˌbɔːl/
美式发音：/ˈrek.ɪŋ ˌbɑːl/
wrecking ball 是一个名词短语，字面指"拆除用的铁球"，是一种通过起重机悬挂并摆动或落下以拆除旧建筑物的重型金属球，也称为"wrecker’s ball"。它体积庞大、重量巨大，能够穿透屋顶、撞倒墙壁。中文常译为"破碎球""落锤破碎机"或"大铁球"。
在比喻意义上，wrecking ball 可指"具有巨大破坏力的人或事物"，即能够造成重大损害或破坏的对象。
"The demolition process started yesterday," said Howard N. Ellman, confirming that the wrecking ball had swung on Monday.
（"拆除程序在昨天已经启动，"霍华德·埃尔曼证实星期一拆房落锤破碎机已经开工。）
A day of reckoning has loomed ever since the banking crisis and recession took a wrecking ball to the public finances.
（银行业危机和经济衰退使公共财政千疮百孔，盘点指日可待。）
When the wrecking ball arrives, residents often have an ambivalent attitude to the buildings, mixing nostalgia with the desire to move to more modern surroundings.
（当要拆迁的时候，居民往往对这些建筑怀有复杂的情感，其中包含着怀旧之情，以及对迁入更现代居所的渴望。）
Most obviously, firms hit payroll with a wrecking ball; many reduced it by 70-80%.
（很显然，公司会降低工资支出，许多公司的工资降低了70%-80%。）
Do you use a big wrecking ball or... how do you knock it down?
（你们是用一个大铁球还是……嗯，你们怎么样把学校拆掉呢？）
As I began to walk up the driveway, I heard a loud crash as the wrecking ball struck my old house again.
（当我开始沿着车道往前走时，我听到一声巨响，那个大铁球再一次砸向我的老房子。）
The inflation driven exhilaration proves fleeting as the pendulum swings back like a wrecking ball.
（通货膨胀带来的兴奋感转瞬即逝，就像钟摆像破坏球一样摆回。）
Last week, the government told creditor banks to take the wrecking ball to the Daewoo group.
（上周，政府要求债权银行对大宇集团采取破坏性措施。）
Have you ever heard of a lion that could strike as powerfully as a wrecking ball?
（你听过有狮子能像破坏球一样有力地攻击吗？）
"wrecking ball heart" describes a heart as hard and ruthless as a wrecking ball.
（"wrecking ball heart"形容一个人的心像拆毁旧建筑用的大铁球那样坚硬、无情。）
swing a wrecking ball：挥动破坏球（字面或比喻用法）
take a wrecking ball to：对……采取破坏性措施
wrecking ball effect：破坏球效应（指巨大的破坏性影响）
在特定领域中，该短语也可能作为特定事物的俗称，例如KC-135加油机的转换软管加油套锥在海军中被戏称为"the wrecking ball"。
从建筑拆除工具到象征破坏性力量的隐喻，wrecking ball 展现了语言从具体实物到抽象概念的转化能力。当你听到这个短语时，会联想到轰鸣的拆迁现场，还是