cratered

verb

past tense of crater
1
as in collapsed
to be unsuccessful a time when businesses were cratering left and right

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fell
to go to a lower level especially abruptly the stock price cratered when the company filed for Chapter 11

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cratered
  1. collapsed
  2. fell
  3. flopped
  4. plunged
  5. failed
  6. tumbled
  7. folded
  8. dipped
Verb
  • The original bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River in March 2024 after a cargo ship lost power and struck it, killing six construction workers.
    — CBS Baltimore, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Officials said the cleanup and repairs could take weeks or more in Pagosa Springs, where walkways and bridges collapsed or were heavily damaged.
    — Brittany Peterson, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of collapsed
Verb
  • Collins faces Democrat Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate leader who stepped in to the race after scandals felled nominee Graham Platner in July.
    — Justin Papp,Caleigh Keating,Garrett Downs,Kevin Breuninger,Dan Mangan, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
  • In the postwar decades, humans seized ecosystems at breakneck speed—forests were felled, prairies plowed, wetlands drained.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of fell
Verb
  • In fact, the only previous cinematic encounter was the unfortunate 2003 live-action version with Mike Myers that flopped critically and at the box office, winning a pathetic 10 Razzie nominations as one of the worst pictures of that year.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The notorious Grand Theft Auto 6 leaker seems to be hitting pause after the group’s newest effort to rake in funds appears to have flopped.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of flopped
Verb
  • Bottoms defeated Rick Jackson, a billionaire who plunged more than $200 million of his own money into the race.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026
  • SpaceX and Tesla, both engaged in the AI and data center businesses, plunged around 5% in early Wednesday trading.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of plunged
Verb
  • After Pittsburgh failed to score during nearly 4½ straight minutes of power-play time early in the second, Gauthier beat Silovs with a beautiful no-look shot for his first goal.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2026
  • The administration says longstanding federal policy of getting people into permanent housing first, then offering voluntary treatment, has failed, and is to blame for the pandemic spike in homelessness.
    — Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of failed
Verb
  • Microchip Technology – The semiconductor manufacturer tumbled 14% on the back of largely disappointing guidance for the current quarter.
    — Deena Zaidi, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026
  • South Korea’s Kospi index tumbled more than 8%, triggering a temporary market-wide trading halt.
    — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of tumbled
Verb
  • Omitsu extended her delicate white hand toward Shinsuke, who sat sullen, arms folded.
    — Yasushi Inoue, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2026
  • While Freeform was folded into Erwich’s and by extension Sethi’s portfolio awhile back, National Geographic Content, led by President Courteney Monroe, has remained a separate unit reporting to OConnell.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of folded
Verb
  • Media Networks, which includes the studio’s TV channels and Crunchyroll, dipped from $913 million to $896 million.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Eala made an international splash and has already dipped her toes into the fashion world, attending Tory Burch and Calvin Klein fashion shows during New York Fashion Week.
    — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of dipped
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

crater
cratered
cratering
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cratered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cratered. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of valorous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All