I. cra·ter ˈkrād.ə(r), -ātə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin, mixing bowl, mouth of a volcano, from Greek kratēr, from kerannynai to mix; akin to Sanskrit śrīta mixed, and probably to Old English hrēran to stir, Old High German hruoren, Old Norse hrœra
1. : a hole at the top of a cone-shaped object: as
a.
(1) : the depression above or around the orifice of a volcano that often appears as a funnel-shaped pit maintained by successive explosions at the top of a built-up cone
(2) : the flaring or bowl-shaped opening of a geyser
(3) : a depression formed by the impact of a meteorite
(4) : any of thousands of formations on the lunar surface ranging in size from small pocks less than a mile in diameter to walled plains nearly 150 miles across and thought by many astronomers to be caused by the impact of huge meteorites and by others to be of igneous origin
b. : a hole in the ground made by the explosion of a projectile, bomb, or charge
c. : the cup-shaped cavity formed at the end of the positive carbon of a direct-current arc lamp
d. : an eroded crateriform lesion of a wall or surface (as the site of an ulcer of the stomach or duodenal wall)
2. : krater
II. crater verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to form a crater
the surface cratered with the constant dropping of water
transitive verb
: to form or make a crater in
artillery cratered the roads
III. crat·er noun
( -s )
Etymology: crate (II) + -er
: one that packs articles into crates for shipment : one that builds crates around large objects (as pianos)