Crater
English Meaning
The basinlike opening or mouth of a volcano, through which the chief eruption comes; similarly, the mouth of a geyser, about which a cone of silica is often built up.
- A bowl-shaped depression at the mouth of a volcano or geyser.
- A bowl-shaped depression in a surface made by an explosion or the impact of a body, such as a meteoroid.
- A pit; a hollow.
- Variant of krater.
- To make craters in: "The missiles did not . . . crater the airfield” ( Tom Clancy).
- To form a crater or craters.
- Slang To fall and crash violently from a great height.
- Slang To fail utterly: "talked about how tough times were in Texas since the oil business cratered” ( Stephen Coonts).