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crater Definition

cra·ter (krātər)

noun

  1. in ancient Greece or Rome, a kind of large bowl or jar shaped like an amphora
  2. a bowl-shaped cavity, as at the mouth of a volcano or geyser
  3. a pit resembling this, specif. one caused by a bomb or by the impact of a meteorite, as on the moon
  4. Astron. a S constellation between Hydra and Corvus

Etymology: L, mixing bowl, mouth of a volcano < Gr kratēr < kerannynai, to mix: see idiosyncrasy

transitive verb

to make craters in

intransitive verb

to form craters

crater Synonyms

crater

n.

pit, cavity, abyss; see hole 2.

crater Usage Examples

Object

  • terrain: The first image shows a heavily cratered highland terrain with very long shadows cast by crater rims.

Converse of object

  • excavate: Alternatively, explosions create cavities, for example, as bombs excavate bomb craters.
  • fill: Our feet sounded hollow on the thin plug filling the huge crater.
  • flood: The flooded crater of the southernmost island has a resident population of unnaturally large crocodiles.

Preposition: on

  • moon: So Jonathan and Ellen have to pick a crater on the moon and measure how big it is.

Adjective modifier

  • volcanic: Or maybe walk up to the crest of Gran Canaria's largest volcanic crater with a view to the south coast.
  • lunar: He is honored by having a large lunar crater named after him.
  • extinct: Its unique harbor was once an inland lake, in an extinct volcanic crater.
  • shallow: Mount Macdonald is a shallow crater about ten miles across.
  • huge: The horrific blast left a huge crater in the main Belfast to Dublin road.
  • enormous: Enormous craters dot the landscape in many regions covering dozens of square miles.

Modifies a noun

  • rim: The summit lies a little further along the crater rim to the right.
  • lake: In the center is a crater lake about half a mile in diameter.

Noun used with modifier

  • meteorite: This is the world's largest and oldest meteorite impact crater.
  • meteor: They decide to visit a meteor crater, where their car fails to start leaving them stranded in the middle of the Australian outback.
  • asteroid: Fossils and Asteroid Impacts Find out how examining the rocks and fossils around an asteroid impact crater can help us reveal its full effects.
  • volcano: I feel like a person living on the brink of a volcano crater.
  • bomb: The runways are pitted with 500 lb bomb craters, making them useless.
  • summit: Initial indications are that the emission was caused by collapse at the summit crater.

Preposition: of

  • volcano: El Valle Situated in the crater of an extinct volcano, El Valle is famous for its Sunday Indian craft market.

Browse dictionary entries near crater

  1. crate
  2. cratch
  3. -crat
  4. Crassus
  5. crass
  6. crashing
  7. Crashaw
  8. crash program
  9. crash pad
  10. crash-land
  1. Crater Mound
  2. cratering
  3. craton
  4. craunch
  5. cravat
  6. crave
  7. craven
  8. craving
  9. craw
  10. crawdad