crater

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A bowl-shaped depression at the mouth of a volcano or geyser.
2. n. A bowl-shaped depression in a surface made by an explosion or the impact of a body, such as a meteoroid.
3. n. A pit; a hollow.
4. n. Variant of krater.
5. v. To make craters in: "The missiles did not . . . crater the airfield” ( Tom Clancy).
6. v. To form a crater or craters.
7. v. Slang To fall and crash violently from a great height.
8. v. Slang To fail utterly: "talked about how tough times were in Texas since the oil business cratered” ( Stephen Coonts).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. pl. crateres (krā˙-tē′ rēz). In classical antiquity, a large vessel or vase in which water was mixed with wine according to accepted formulas, and from which it was dipped out and served to the guests in the smaller pouring-vessels (oinochoe). The typical form of the crater is open and bell-like, with a foot, and a small handle placed very low on either side. Many beautiful Greek examples are preserved, especially in the red-figured pottery. Also written krater. Compare oxybaphon.
2. n. In geology, the cup-shaped depression or cavity of a volcano, forming the orifice through which the erupted material finds its way to the surface, or has done so in former times if the volcano is at present extinct or dormant. Such a depression is usually surrounded by a pile of ashes and volcanic débris, which forms the cone. Some craters have a very regular form; others are broken down more or less on one side.
3. n. Milit., a cavity formed by the explosion of a military mine.
4. n. Any hollow made in the earth by subterranean forces.
5. n. [capitalized] An ancient southern constellation south of Leo and Virgo. It is supposed to represent a vase with two handles and a base.
6. n. In electricity, a hollow cavity formed in the positive carbon of an arclamp when continuous currents are used.
7. n. A caldera.

Wiktionary

1. n. astronomy A hemispherical pit created by the impact of a meteorite or other object.
2. n. geology 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.
3. n. informal The pit left by the explosion of a mine or bomb.
4. n. informal Any large, roughly circular depression or hole.
5. v. To collapse catastrophically; implode; hollow out; to become devastated or completely destroyed.
6. v. snowboarding To crash or fall.
7. n. Ireland, informal A term of endearment, a dote, a wretched thing.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. 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. n. (Mil.) The pit left by the explosion of a bomb, shell, or mine.
3. n. (Astron.) A constellation of the southen hemisphere; -- called also the Cup.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Hydra and Corvus
2. n. a bowl-shaped geological formation at the top of a volcano
3. n. a bowl-shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or bomb