crater

¹ American  

[krey-ter] / ˈkreɪ tər /

noun

genitive

Crateris

1. Geology, Astronomy.

   1. Also called impact crater;.  Also called 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)

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 American  

[krey-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. 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 ² British  

/ ˈkreɪtə /

noun

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

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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

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

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

In an emotional moment, the crew suggested naming one crater after Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

For Wiseman, the "pinnacle moment" was when his team named a lunar crater after Wiseman's late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

NASA’s Artemis II crew described the far side of the moon in eloquent detail, named a crater after Cmdr.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team discovered a new crater by carefully comparing images of the same area taken at different times.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026

He’d met a lot of goddesses, but the girl glaring down at him from the edge of the crater actually looked like a goddess.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• hole
• mouth
• pit