Showing results for "crater"

• a variation of krater.

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  crater
• Crater
  Crater

  noun

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

crater

¹ American  

[kray-ter] / ˈkreɪ tər /

noun

• craters,
  plural
• Crateris
  genitive

1. Geology, Astronomy.

   1. Also called impact crater;, meteorite crater. a large bowl-shaped depression on the surface of the earth or other heavenly body, formed by the impact of a meteorite.

   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.

5. Metalworking. a depression at the end of a bead produced by welding.

6. (initial capital letter) the Cup, a small southern constellation west of Corvus and north of Hydra.

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verb (used with object)

• craters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cratered,
  past participle,  past
• cratering
  present participle

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)

• craters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cratered,
  past participle,  past
• cratering
  present participle

1. to form a crater or craters.

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

Crater ² American  

[kray-ter] / ˈkreɪ tər /

noun

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

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Crater ¹ British  

/ ˈkreɪtə /

noun

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

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crater ² British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to make or form craters in (a surface, such as the ground)

2. slang to fail; collapse; crash

crater Scientific  

/ 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crater-like
  adjective
• crateral
  adjective
• cratered
  adjective
• craterless
  adjective
• craterlike
  adjective
• craterous
  adjective
• intercrater
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• craters
  plural

Participles

• cratering
  present
• cratered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• crater
  simple
• craters
  simple
• have cratered
  perfect
• has cratered
  perfect
• am cratering
  progressive
• are cratering
  progressive
• is cratering
  progressive
• have been cratering
  perfect progressive
• has been cratering
  perfect progressive

Past

• cratered
  simple
• had cratered
  perfect
• was cratering
  progressive
• were cratering
  progressive
• had been cratering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will crater
  simple
• will have cratered
  perfect
• will be cratering
  progressive
• will have been cratering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of crater

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; cf. crasis

Explanation

A crater is a roundish dent left in the surface of something by the impact of something else. Look at the moon: it's covered in craters from thousands of impacts over millions of years. Once in a while, you might hear the word crater used as a verb, as in, "The movie cratered at the box office, earning way less than expected." But you'll usually hear crater used as a noun to refer to a bowl-shaped depression left behind by an explosion or impact. Outside Flagstaff, Arizona, you'll find Meteor Crater, one of the most well-defined impact craters on the surface of the earth. It's almost a mile across, even though the meteor that created it was less than 100 yards in diameter.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crater Crater craters Crateris cratered cratering

South Korea said North Korean land mines “highly likely” caused the explosions based on the blast crater, flame patterns and the soldiers’ injuries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Analysis of rock samples suggests the crater formed roughly 390 million years ago.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

For Lapointe, alerting scientists to the crater has become an unforgettable experience.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Uhackatik is the largest impact crater discovered since the 31-kilometer Hiawatha structure was found in 2018.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

It hit the road near the huge tree, blowing a crater in the packed earth.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Astronomer Bill Gray, who first discovered the trajectory, says the object will land near the Einstein Crater, which is on the part of the Moon that receives daylight and is visible from Earth.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

China's Chang'e-7 mission is expected to land near Shackleton Crater in late 2026.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Astrobotic's Griffin-1 lander is expected to land at Nobile Crater near the South Pole.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

In a dried-up riverbed, there’s a rock with a freshly drilled hole in it—the handiwork of NASA’s Perseverance rover, which touched down in Jezero Crater in 2021.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

By the time Shoemaker came along, a common view was that Meteor Crater had been formed by an underground steam explosion.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

While the Moon has numerous craters, many of which are far bigger than McGetchin, researching a crater's formation in real time can help build understanding of the Moon's geology.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

If demand craters, Nvidia will still be on the hook for purchases of inputs from its supply chain—a problem that only grows with its soaring commitments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

He said his telescopes allowed people to see the solar event in detail, including craters on the moon.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Asteroids and meteors have given the satellite its signature pockmarked surface and network of craters.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

The hood was badly dented, like somebody had tried to hammer out some huge craters.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

The star Alkes, or α Crateris, must first be found.

From Half-hours with the Telescope Being a Popular Guide to the Use of the Telescope as a Means of Amusement and Instruction. by Richard A. (Richard Anthony) Proctor

This is R Crateris, now known to be variable from above the 8th magnitude to below the 9th.

From Astronomical Curiosities Facts and Fallacies by J. Ellard Gore

If now the telescope be directed to Alkes, there will be found, following him at a distance of 42·5 s, and about one minute southerly, a small red star, R. Crateris.

From Half-hours with the Telescope Being a Popular Guide to the Use of the Telescope as a Means of Amusement and Instruction. by Richard A. (Richard Anthony) Proctor

The bond market cratered Wednesday, with the 10-year Treasury yield soaring to its highest since 2007, after S&P’s September PMI rose to its highest since July 2021 and flashed an inflation warning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

The southern surface is dominated by tall mountains and heavily cratered terrain, while the northern hemisphere consists largely of broad, low-lying plains.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

According to a Washington Post report, revenues dropped precipitously when he announced the change and then completely cratered when his name was added.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Supermarket shelves stacked with products blackened from the fire were stacked up beneath a cratered ceiling and behind blown-out windows.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Her enemy had a face: ugly dishwater eyes and cratered skin, with a few limp locks of hair floating around her cheeks.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

That places the impact around 100 million years before a major increase in cratering on Earth that researchers have suggested may be connected to collisions within the asteroid belt.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

What they show is rock-solid economy, fueled by a boom in artificial intelligence, that shows no sign of cratering.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

With a clearer picture of the future, it can invest more carefully in fabrication plants to satisfy overflowing demand without cratering prices down the line.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

But the broader policy has remained in place and “the numbers are still cratering on them,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026

Thus, very roughly, craters on the Moon should be formed today at the rate of about 109 years/104 craters, = 105 years/crater, a hundred thousand years between cratering events.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• hole
• mouth
• pit