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crater - 11 dictionary results

cra⋅ter

  [krey-ter] noun, genitive Cra⋅te⋅ris  [krey-teer-is] for 9, verb
Use crater in a Sentence
–noun
1. the cup-shaped depression or cavity on the surface of the earth or other heavenly body marking the orifice of a volcano.
2. Also called impact crater, meteorite crater. (on the surface of the earth, moon, etc.) a bowl-shaped depression with a raised rim, formed by the impact of a meteoroid. Compare astrobleme.
3. Astronomy. (on the surface of the moon) a circular or almost circular area having a depressed floor, almost always containing a central mountain and usually completely enclosed by walls that are often higher than those of a walled plain; ring formation; ring. Compare walled plain.
4. the bowllike orifice of a geyser.
5. the hole or pit in the ground where a bomb, shell, or military mine has exploded.
6. Electricity. the cavity formed in a positive carbon electrode by an electric arc.
7. Greek and Roman Antiquity. krater.
8. Metalworking. a depression at the end of a bead produced by welding.
9. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Cup, a small southern constellation west of Corvus and north of Hydra.
–verb (used with object)
10. to make craters in: Bombs had cratered the landscape.
11. Slang.
a. to cancel, abandon, or cast aside: to crater the new project.
b. to destroy or ruin: One more disappointment won't crater me.
–verb (used without object)
12. to form a crater or craters: The surface of the concrete cratered and cracked under the repeated impacts.
Origin:
1605–15; < L < Gk krātr mixing bowl, lit., mixer, equiv. to krā- (base of kerannýnai to mix) + -tēr agentive suffix; cf. crasis

Related forms:
cra⋅ter⋅al, cra⋅ter⋅ous, adjective
cra⋅ter⋅like, adjective

Cra⋅ter

  [krey-ter]
–noun
Joseph Force  [fawrs, fohrs] , 1889–?, a judge of the New York State Supreme Court: his mysterious disappearance on August 6, 1930, has never been solved.

kra⋅ter

  [krey-ter]
–noun Greek and Roman Antiquity.
a mixing bowl characterized by a wide mouth and body with two handles projecting vertically from the juncture of the neck and body, used to mix wine and water.
Also, crater.
Compare kelebe.

Origin:
1855–60; < Gk krātr; see crater
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To crater
cra·ter   (krā'tər)   
n.  
  1. A bowl-shaped depression at the mouth of a volcano or geyser.
    1. A bowl-shaped depression in a surface made by an explosion or the impact of a body, such as a meteoroid.
    2. A pit; a hollow.
  3. Variant of krater.
v.   cra·tered, cra·ter·ing, cra·ters

v.   tr.
To make craters in: "The missiles did not . . . crater the airfield" (Tom Clancy).
v.   intr.
  1. To form a crater or craters.
  2. Slang
    1. To fall and crash violently from a great height.
    2. To fail utterly: "talked about how tough times were in Texas since the oil business cratered" (Stephen Coonts).

[Latin crātēr, from Greek krātēr, mixing vessel; see kerə- in Indo-European roots.]
Cra·ter   (krā'tər)   
n.  A constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Hydra and Corvus.

[Latin crātēr, mixing bowl, crater; see crater.]
kra·ter or cra·ter   (krā'tər)   
n.  A wide, two-handled bowl used in ancient Greece and Rome for mixing wine and water.

[Greek krātēr; see kerə- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Crater

Cra"ter\ (kr?t?r), n. [L. crater, cratera, a mixing vessel, the mouth of a volcano, Gr. krath`r, fr. keranny`nai to mix; cf. Skr. [,c]r[imac] to mix, [,c]ir to cook, [,c]r[=a] to cook. Cf. Grail, in Holy Grail.]

1. 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.

2. (Mil.) The pit left by the explosion of a mine.

3. (Astron.) A constellation of the southen hemisphere; -- called also the Cup.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : crater
Spanish: cráter,
German: der Krater,
Japanese: 噴火口
More Translations »

crater 
1613, from Gk. krater "bowl for mixing wine with water," from kera- "to mix." used in L. for bowl-shaped mouth of a volcano. Applied to features of the Moon since 1860.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: cra·ter
Pronunciation: 'krAt-&r
Function: noun
: an eroded lesion of a wall or surface craters>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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crater cra·ter (krā'tər)
n.
A circular depression or pit in the surface of a tissue or body part.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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crater   (krā'tər)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A bowl-shaped depression at the top of a volcano or at the mouth of a geyser. Volcanic craters can form because of magma explosions in which a large amount of lava is thrown out from a volcano, leaving a hole, or because the roof of rock over an underground magma pool collapses after the magma has flowed away.
  2. A shallow, bowl-shaped depression in a surface, formed by an explosion or by the impact of a body, such as a meteorite.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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