crater

Noun

1. A hemispherical pit created by the impact of a meteorite or other object.
2. The basin-like 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.
3. The pit left by the explosion of a mine or bomb.
4. (broadly, informal) Any large, roughly circular depression or hole.
5. (alt-of, alternative, historical) Alternative spelling of krater (“vessel for mixing water and wine”).

Verb

1. To form craters in a surface.
2. (figuratively) To collapse catastrophically; to become devastated or completely destroyed.
3. To crash or fall.
4. To die from fall damage.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkɹeɪ.tə(ɹ)/

Etymology

First coined 1613, from Latin crātēr (“basin”), from Ancient Greek κρᾱτήρ (krātḗr, “mixing-bowl, wassail-bowl”).

Synonyms

aperture

caldera

hole

🕳️

orifice

volcanic crater

chute

filler

funnel

jet-burner

lava

volcanic vent

pan

pit

shell-hole

vent

ring mountain

shell hole

arc crater

cauldron

cave

cavity

Translations

cratère

Krater

cratere

cráter

krater

cratera

κρατήρας

cràter

krater

krater

فَوَّهَة اَلْبُرْكَان

Vulkankrater

cratère

trechter

Sprengkrater

Sentences

The crater is named after Posidonius.