cra·ter
(krātər)
(krātər)n.
1. A bowl-shaped depression created by the activity of a volcano or geyser.
2.
a. A bowl-shaped depression in a surface made by an explosion or the impact of a body, such as a meteoroid.
b. A pit; a hollow.
3. Variant ofkrater.
v.cra·tered, cra·ter·ing, cra·ters
v.tr.
To make craters in:"The missiles did not ... crater the airfield"(Tom Clancy).
v.intr.
1. To form a crater or craters.
2. Slang
a. To fall and crash violently from a great height.
b. To fail utterly:"talked about how tough times were in Texas since the oil business cratered"(Stephen Coonts).
[Latincrātēr, fromGreekkrātēr, mixing vessel; see kerə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
cratertop: Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano in northern Tanzania (background) with a crater (foreground) formed by the collapse of a cone on its flank
bottom: Meteor Crater, near Winslow, Arizona
crater