Cratering

[krey-ter] /ˈkreɪ tər/

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 .
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 .
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. .
8.
Metalworking. a depression at the end of a bead produced by welding.
9.
genitive Crateris
[krey-teer-is] /kreɪˈtɪər ɪs/ (Show IPA). (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.

verb (used without object)
12.
to form a crater or craters:
The surface of the concrete cratered and cracked under the repeated impacts.
/ˈkreɪtə/
noun
1.
the bowl-shaped opening at the top or side of a volcano or top of a geyser through which lava and gases are emitted
2.
a similarly shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or exploding bomb
3.
any of the circular or polygonal walled formations covering the surface of the moon and some other planets, formed probably either by volcanic action or by the impact of meteorites. They can have a diameter of up to 240 kilometres (150 miles) and a depth of 8900 metres (29 000 feet)
4.
a pit in an otherwise smooth surface
5.
a large open bowl with two handles, used for mixing wines, esp in ancient Greece
verb
6.
to make or form craters in (a surface, such as the ground)
7.
(slang) to fail; collapse; crash
/ˈkreɪtə/
noun (Latin genitive) Crateris (ˈkreɪtərɪs)
1.
a small faint constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Virgo and Hydra
n.

1610s, from Latin crater, from Greek krater “bowl for mixing wine with water,” from kera- “to mix,” from PIE root *kere- “to mix, confuse; cook” (see rare (adj.2)). Used in Latin for bowl-shaped mouth of a volcano. Applied to features of the Moon since 1860. As a verb, from 1830 in poetry, 1872 in science. Related: Cratered; cratering.

crater cra·ter (krā’tər)
n.
A circular depression or pit in the surface of a tissue or body part.
crater
(krā’tər)