cratering

verb

present participle of crater
1
as in collapsing
to be unsuccessful a time when businesses were cratering left and right

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in plunging
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 cratering
  1. collapsing
  2. plunging
  3. failing
  4. falling
  5. flopping
  6. tumbling
  7. folding
  8. declining
Verb
  • The cost of creating plausible false identities is collapsing.
    — Joao Gomes, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The public must contend head-on with a collapsing currency and runaway inflation, and to ordinary Iranians, describing the present situation as sustainable would sound almost obscene.
    — Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of collapsing
Verb
  • Pilots have compared landing on the short runway, with either side plunging straight down off the side of a vertical cliff, to landing on an aircraft carrier.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • And this week, our story about the dwindling water levels in Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir, shows breathtaking expanses of dry canyon plunging to a shrinking, narrow ribbon of teal green.
    — Stephanie Hanes, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of plunging
Verb
  • By merging the two failing car companies, Marchionne created the seventh-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world, increasing Fiat’s value more than tenfold.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • According to RadarOnline, the King was left worried after failing to connect with his longtime friend Sir Ranulph Fiennes, an explorer who’s withdrawn from the spotlight amid his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of failing
Verb
  • People have moved so aggressively along the learning curve that those challenges are falling by the wayside.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Paired with an all-leather ensemble, pants and pointed-toe pumps included, the hair screamed ’80s rom-com star, the curls falling toward her face in a single swift motion.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of falling
Verb
  • The tall foliage of bearded iris (Iris germanica) begins flopping early in the growing season.
    — Marie Iannotti, The Spruce, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The fish looks straight at me, flopping sluggishly from side to side.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of flopping
Verb
  • Cliffs teeter at 1,640 feet, before tumbling down in a flurry of vineyards and walking trails to the rushing rivers and gorges of Sil and Miño.
    — Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026
  • But many homeowners locked in low mortgage rates when COVID-19 slammed the economy and sent borrowing costs tumbling; so they are protected if mortgage rates rise in the wake of a Fed raTte hike.
    — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of tumbling
Verb
  • If not, find another box or even a large, zippered plastic bag that’s big enough to accommodate the wig without folding it.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • That has included multiple rounds of layoffs; shutdown of print editions of magazines including Self and Teen Vogue; and folding music site Pitchfork into GQ.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of folding
Verb
  • Local officials and school leaders have linked the shortage of family housing to declining enrollment in the Davis Joint Unified School District, which is weighing school closures.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • And the Civilian Oversight Commission filed suit against the department in June for declining to provide certain records related to three cases of use of force the commission issued subpoenas for in February 2025.
    — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of declining
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

cratered
cratering
craters
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Cite this Entry

“Cratering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cratering. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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