plural craters
1
a
: the bowl-shaped depression around the orifice of a volcano
b
: a depression formed by an impact (as of a meteorite)
c
: a hole in the ground made by the explosion of a bomb or shell
2
: an eroded lesion
3
: a dimple in a painted surface
4
Crater astronomy
: a constellation that is visible between the constellations of Corvus and Hydra and that is represented by the figure of a cup
Both the cup and the snake are here in the sky. If you have dark enough skies, you can spot the faint stars of Crater the cup and Hydra the snake to the right of Corvus.—
Kevin D. Conod
Kevin D. Conod
cra·ter
less common spelling of krater
: a jar or vase of classical antiquity having a large round body and a wide mouth and used for mixing wine and water
Synonyms
Examples of crater in a Sentence
Verb
The deal cratered when neither party could agree on the final price.
Stock prices cratered after the companies' merger.
Recent Examples on the WebJillian Sykes, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024
Close by, a snow cornice had broken off and tipped into the crater.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2024
The 2,000-pound bombs, capable of leveling city blocks and leaving craters in the earth 40 feet across and larger, are almost never used any more by Western militaries in densely populated locations because of the risk of civilian casualties.
—John Hudson The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 31 Mar. 2024
Foot traffic remained down in the last century, as little else lives in the crater that can be harvested or cut down.
—Daniel Lewis, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024
The three volcanic craters on the island are the only such hiding places.
—Daniel Lewis, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024
Last year was a crisis point for Mars Sample Return, whose goal is to fetch rocks from the Red Planet’s Jezero crater and bring them back to Earth for study.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Videos and images show a large crater just meters away from high-rise residential buildings.
—Andrew Carey, Victoria Butenko and Yulia Kesaieva, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
His video monitor had gone blurry at first, the landscape of shattered trees and shell craters barely visible, before blacking out completely.
—Yurii Shyvala, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
The aim was to polarize the public, and to crater anything like consensus.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
None of them played so poorly as to crater their stock, either, though the overall work particularly Tuesday and Wednesday felt underwhelming.
—Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 4 Feb. 2024
The attacks against the governor focused on his masculinity, loyalty and competence, helped crater his poll numbers and deflated his image among Republican primary voters as a confident warrior for conservative causes.
—Ken Bensinger, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
Stocks wouldn’t crater even if cuts were off the table completely in 2024, according to Bank of America, despite what Tuesday’s losses suggest.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024
If the United States is unable to pay its creditors for an extended period, White House economists have predicted the value of the stock market could crater, and the country could suffer a deep recession, with the loss of more than 8 million jobs.
—Julia Horowitz, CNN, 9 May 2023
The New York Times reported Monday the president had to be dissuaded last week from a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that could damage the country’s enrichment operations but probably also crater Biden’s ability to cool tensions and cajole the regime to the table.
—Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2020
Likewise, births did not crater.
—Stephanie H. Murray, The Atlantic, 28 Nov. 2022
Noun
Nearby, a snow cornice close to the rim had fractured and fell into the crater of the mountain.
—Jillian Sykes, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024
Close by, a snow cornice had broken off and tipped into the crater.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2024
The 2,000-pound bombs, capable of leveling city blocks and leaving craters in the earth 40 feet across and larger, are almost never used any more by Western militaries in densely populated locations because of the risk of civilian casualties.
—John Hudson The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 31 Mar. 2024
Foot traffic remained down in the last century, as little else lives in the crater that can be harvested or cut down.
—Daniel Lewis, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024
The three volcanic craters on the island are the only such hiding places.
—Daniel Lewis, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024
Last year was a crisis point for Mars Sample Return, whose goal is to fetch rocks from the Red Planet’s Jezero crater and bring them back to Earth for study.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Videos and images show a large crater just meters away from high-rise residential buildings.
—Andrew Carey, Victoria Butenko and Yulia Kesaieva, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
His video monitor had gone blurry at first, the landscape of shattered trees and shell craters barely visible, before blacking out completely.
—Yurii Shyvala, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Verb
Keep in mind that any large-scale sale of Trump’s shares would probably crater the stock price and take his unwary investors to the stock market woodshed.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
The aim was to polarize the public, and to crater anything like consensus.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
None of them played so poorly as to crater their stock, either, though the overall work particularly Tuesday and Wednesday felt underwhelming.
—Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 4 Feb. 2024
The attacks against the governor focused on his masculinity, loyalty and competence, helped crater his poll numbers and deflated his image among Republican primary voters as a confident warrior for conservative causes.
—Ken Bensinger, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
Stocks wouldn’t crater even if cuts were off the table completely in 2024, according to Bank of America, despite what Tuesday’s losses suggest.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024
If the United States is unable to pay its creditors for an extended period, White House economists have predicted the value of the stock market could crater, and the country could suffer a deep recession, with the loss of more than 8 million jobs.
—Julia Horowitz, CNN, 9 May 2023
The New York Times reported Monday the president had to be dissuaded last week from a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that could damage the country’s enrichment operations but probably also crater Biden’s ability to cool tensions and cajole the regime to the table.
—Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2020
Likewise, births did not crater.
—Stephanie H. Murray, The Atlantic, 28 Nov. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crater.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Crater.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crater. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
crater
noun
cra·ter
ˈkrāt-ər 
: an eroded lesion of a wall or surface
ulcer craters
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