crater

¹

[ krey-ter ]

noun

, genitive Cra·te·ris [krey-, teer, -is].

1. Geology, Astronomy.
   1. Also called impact crater;. a large bowl-shaped depression on the surface of the earth or other heavenly body, formed by the impact of a meteorite. Compare astrobleme.
   2. a similar depression or cavity that forms the opening of a volcano or geyser. The volcanic activity that creates such craters occurs on the surface of the earth as well as a number of other heavenly bodies.
2. the hole or pit in the ground where a bomb, shell, or military mine has exploded.
3. Electricity. the cavity formed in a positive carbon electrode by an electric arc.
4. Greek and Roman Antiquity. krater ( def ).
5. Metalworking. a depression at the end of a bead produced by welding.
6. genitive Crateris [krey-, teer, -is]. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Cup, a small southern constellation west of Corvus and north of Hydra.

verb (used with object)

1. to make craters in:

   Bombs had cratered the landscape.

2. Slang.
   1. to cancel, abandon, or cast aside:

      to crater the new project.

   2. to destroy or ruin:

      One more disappointment won't crater me.

   3. to collapse, plunge, or fail suddenly; crash:

      The company’s stock has cratered 35% this year.

verb (used without object)

1. to form a crater or craters:

   The surface of the concrete cratered and cracked under the repeated impacts.

Crater

²

[ krey-ter ]

noun

1. Joseph Force [fawrs, fohrs], 1889–?, a judge of the New York State Supreme Court: his mysterious disappearance on August 6, 1930, has never been solved.

crater

¹

/ ˈkreɪtə /

noun

1. the bowl-shaped opening at the top or side of a volcano or top of a geyser through which lava and gases are emitted
2. a similarly shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or exploding bomb
3. any of the circular or polygonal walled formations covering the surface of the moon and some other planets, formed probably either by volcanic action or by the impact of meteorites. They can have a diameter of up to 240 kilometres (150 miles) and a depth of 8900 metres (29 000 feet)
4. a pit in an otherwise smooth surface
5. a large open bowl with two handles, used for mixing wines, esp in ancient Greece

verb

1. to make or form craters in (a surface, such as the ground)
2. slang.
   to fail; collapse; crash

Crater

²

/ ˈkreɪtə /

noun

1. a small faint constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Virgo and Hydra

crater

/ krā′tər /

1. A bowl-shaped depression at the top of a volcano or at the mouth of a geyser. Volcanic craters can form because of magma explosions in which a large amount of lava is thrown out from a volcano, leaving a hole, or because the roof of rock over an underground magma pool collapses after the magma has flowed away.
2. A shallow, bowl-shaped depression in a surface, formed by an explosion or by the impact of a body, such as a meteorite.

Derived Forms

• ˈcrater-ˌlike, adjective
• ˈcraterless, adjective
• ˈcratered, adjective

Other Words From

• cra·ter·al cra·ter·ous adjective
• cra·ter·like adjective
• in·ter·cra·ter adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of crater¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin crātēr, from Greek krātḗr “mixing bowl,” literally, “mixer”, equivalent to krā- (base of kerannýnai “to mix”) + -tēr agent suffix; crasis

Word History and Origins

Origin of crater¹

C17: from Latin: mixing bowl, crater, from Greek kratēr, from kerannunai to mix

Example Sentences

However, in March 2020, when Toutiao launched an independent search engine to rival Baidu, it failed to meet expectations and didn’t make much of a crater in Baidu’s landscape.

From Search Engine Watch

Every part of it receives sunlight, except for those tiny pockets of shadowed craters near the poles.

From Nautilus

Igneous rocks, created by volcanic activity, are likely to be present, so it will be really interesting to study the history of the crater, which formed around 4 billion years ago.

From Singularity Hub 

The Jezero crater also contains two large deltas, where we expect to find sediments that were once transported and deposited by rivers that existed long ago.

From Singularity Hub 

During that, Perseverance will seek signs of ancient life in the crater.

From Science News For Students

He scrambled outside to find a 25-foot-wide crater just beyond the mud wall surrounding his family compound.

From The Daily Beast

In this crater, frail silhouettes, women for the most part, bend to dig with their bare hands in the rubble.

From The Daily Beast

Interest rates will soar, home values will plummet, stock markets will crash, and global economies will crater.

From The Daily Beast

Their hydrogen sulfide plant blew a crater in the ground a year ago.

From The Daily Beast

Jean Trinh talks to the artist and curators about light perception and his Roden Crater project.

From The Daily Beast

The original seat of the Latin state was on the shores of one of these crater pools, south of the Eternal City.

From Project Gutenberg

The remaining Unionists were driven at the point of bayonets out of the crater back to their own lines.

From Project Gutenberg

On July 30, 1864 the mine was exploded, and the shape of the area after the explosion resembled a huge crater of a volcano.

From Project Gutenberg

Can Mr. Bede produce anything to match the following sample of the crater, to be found in our most polished English poet?

From Project Gutenberg

Although there is no vegetation on the island, the base of the crater gives the appearance of a well-watered meadow in spring.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• hole
• mouth
• pit