crater

[ krey-ter ]

/ ˈkreɪ tər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR crater ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the cup-shaped depression or cavity on the surface of the earth or other heavenly body marking the orifice of a volcano.

Also called impact crater, meteorite crater. (on the surface of the earth, moon, etc.) a bowl-shaped depression with a raised rim, formed by the impact of a meteoroid.Compare astrobleme.

Astronomy. (on the surface of the moon) a circular or almost circular area having a depressed floor, almost always containing a central mountain and usually completely enclosed by walls that are often higher than those of a walled plain; ring formation; ring.Compare walled plain.

the bowllike orifice of a geyser.

the hole or pit in the ground where a bomb, shell, or military mine has exploded.

Electricity. the cavity formed in a positive carbon electrode by an electric arc.

Greek and Roman Antiquity. krater.

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

genitive Cra·te·ris

[krey-teer-is] /kreɪˈtɪər ɪs/. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Cup, a small southern constellation west of Corvus and north of Hydra.

verb (used with object)

to make craters in: Bombs had cratered the landscape.

Slang.

to cancel, abandon, or cast aside: to crater the new project.
to destroy or ruin: One more disappointment won't crater me.

verb (used without object)

to form a crater or craters: The surface of the concrete cratered and cracked under the repeated impacts.

QUIZZES

Fend Off Sciolism With This Word Of The Day Quiz

Are you the Cinderella of this week’s quiz? Test your memory on the words and definitions from March 23–29.

Question 1 of 7

schlep

to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly

to fold or wind around something

to carry; lug

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of crater

1605–15; < Latin < Greek krātḗr mixing bowl, literally, mixer, equivalent to krā- (base of kerannýnai to mix) + -tēr agentive suffix; cf. crasis

OTHER WORDS FROM crater

cra·ter·al, cra·ter·ous, adjectivecra·ter·like, adjectivein·ter·cra·ter, adjective

Words nearby crater

crassulacean acid metabolism, crassulaceous, crassus, cratch, crate, crater, crater lake, crater lake national park, crater mound, craterlet, craters of the moon

Definition for crater (2 of 3)

Crater

[ krey-ter ]

/ ˈkreɪ tər /

noun

Joseph Force

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

Definition for crater (3 of 3)

krater

or cra·ter

[ krey-ter ]

/ ˈkreɪ tər /

noun Greek and Roman Antiquity.

a mixing bowl characterized by a wide mouth and body with two handles projecting vertically from the juncture of the neck and body, used to mix wine and water.

Compare kelebe.

Origin of krater

1855–60; < Greek krātḗr; see crater

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for crater

He scrambled outside to find a 25-foot-wide crater just beyond the mud wall surrounding his family compound.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this crater, frail silhouettes, women for the most part, bend to dig with their bare hands in the rubble.
The Fashion Victims of Bangladesh|Bernard-Henri Lévy|May 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Interest rates will soar, home values will plummet, stock markets will crash, and global economies will crater.
Crying Wolf on Capitol Hill|Joe McLean|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Their hydrogen sulfide plant blew a crater in the ground a year ago.
13 Revelations From Reddit’s ‘Dirty Little Secret’ Thread Exposing Alleged Industry Secrets|Nina Strochlic|August 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The letter to Clinton quotes one source who described the crater as “big enough for forty men to go through.”
U.S. Consulate in Benghazi Bombed Twice in Run-Up to 9/11 Anniversary|Eli Lake|October 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Our young couple did not visit the crater and the Summit until the sun had lost most of its power.
The Crater|James Fenimore Cooper
There is nothing with which to compare the near-by blue looked sharply down upon from Crater's rim.
The Book of the National Parks|Robert Sterling Yard
This island, like Tahiti, showed traces of earlier volcanic eruptions, and the summit of one of its hills resembled a crater.
Celebrated Travels and Travellers|Jules Verne
The two small craters lay in advance of our trench well under the dominance of German ground and of the rim of Crater 5.
Canada in Flanders, Volume II (of 3)|Lord Max Aitken Beaverbrook
Then, searching the darkening surface of the crater wall, he found no trace of the two who had ridden away.
Louisiana Lou|William West Winter

British Dictionary definitions for crater (1 of 2)

crater

/ (ˈkreɪtə) /

noun

the bowl-shaped opening at the top or side of a volcano or top of a geyser through which lava and gases are emitted

a similarly shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or exploding bomb

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)

a pit in an otherwise smooth surface

a large open bowl with two handles, used for mixing wines, esp in ancient Greece

verb

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

slang to fail; collapse; crash

Derived forms of crater

cratered, adjectivecraterless, adjectivecrater-like, adjective

Word Origin for crater

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

British Dictionary definitions for crater (2 of 2)

Crater

/ (ˈkreɪtə) /

noun Latin genitive Crateris (ˈkreɪtərɪs)

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for crater

crater

[ krā′tər ]

n.

A circular depression or pit in the surface of a tissue or body part.

Scientific definitions for crater

crater

[ krā′tər ]

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.

A shallow, bowl-shaped depression in a surface, formed by an explosion or by the impact of a body, such as a meteorite.

crater

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

QUIZZES

Origin of crater

OTHER WORDS FROM crater

Words nearby crater

Definition for crater (2 of 3)

noun

Definition for crater (3 of 3)

or cra·ter

noun Greek and Roman Antiquity.

Origin of krater

Words related to crater

Example sentences from the Web for crater

British Dictionary definitions for crater (1 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of crater

Word Origin for crater

British Dictionary definitions for crater (2 of 2)

noun Latin genitive Crateris (ˈkreɪtərɪs)

Medical definitions for crater

n.

Scientific definitions for crater