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impact crater

 - 7 dictionary results

impact crater

 
Use impact crater in a Sentence
–noun Astronomy, Geology.
crater (def. 2).
Origin:
1890–95

cra⋅ter

  [krey-ter] noun, genitive Cra⋅te⋅ris  [krey-teer-is] for 9, verb
–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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To impact crater
Main Entry:  impact crater
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  a depression in the ground believed to have been caused by a meteorite
Example:  Does the earth have impact craters?
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Slang Dictionary
crater

  1. n.
    an acne scar. : Walter was always sort of embarrassed about his craters.
  2. in.
    to collapse and go down as with a falling stock price. : The stock cratered and probably won't recover for a year or two.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

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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Medical Dictionary

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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Medical Dictionary

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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