CRATER

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Crater mean? 

• CRATER (noun)
  The noun CRATER has 3 senses:

1. a bowl-shaped geological formation at the top of a volcano

2. a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Hydra and Corvus

3. a bowl-shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or bomb

  Familiarity information: CRATER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRATER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A bowl-shaped geological formation at the top of a volcano

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

crater; volcanic crater

Hypernyms ("crater" is a kind of...):

formation; geological formation ((geology) the geological features of the earth)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crater"):

caldera (a large crater caused by the violent explosion of a volcano that collapses into a depression)

maar (a flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion; often filled with water)

Holonyms ("crater" is a part of...):

volcano (a mountain formed by volcanic material)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Hydra and Corvus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Instance hypernyms:

constellation (a configuration of stars as seen from the earth)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A bowl-shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or bomb

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("crater" is a kind of...):

depression; natural depression (a sunken or depressed geological formation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crater"):

collector (a crater that has collected cosmic material hitting the earth)

lunar crater (a crater on the Earth's Moon)

 Context examples 

Fire rises out of the lunar mountains: when she is cold, I'll carry her up to a peak, and lay her down on the edge of a crater.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

In one crater that is partially sunlit, Dawn's infrared mapping spectrometer confirmed the presence of ice.

(Where is the Ice on Ceres?, NASA)

The research builds on earlier work that described how the crater formed and how life quickly recovered at the site.

(Rocks at asteroid impact site record first day of dinosaur extinction, National Science Foundation)

LRO's thermal radiometer, called Diviner, has taught scientists how much heat is radiating off the Moon’s surface, a critical factor in determining crater ages.

(Moon Data Sheds Light on Earth’s Asteroid Impact History, NASA)

The crater's polygonal nature (meaning it resembles a shape made of straight lines) is noteworthy because most craters seen on other planetary bodies, including Earth, are nearly circular.

(New Ceres Images Show Bright Craters, NASA)

In the background a volcano crater was silhouetted against the stars.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Additionally, there are more craters in the northern hemisphere of Ceres than the south, where the large Urvara and Yalode craters are the dominant features.

(Ceres' Geological Activity, Ice Revealed in New Research, NASA)

"It is more than likely that the lake may be an old crater," said Summerlee.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover recorded this view of the sun setting at the close of the mission's 956th Martian day, or sol (April 15, 2015), from the rover's location in Gale Crater.

(Sunset in Mars' Gale Crater, NASA)

They made good time down the chain of lakes which fills the craters of extinct volcanoes, and late that night pulled into the huge camp at the head of Lake Bennett, where thousands of goldseekers were building boats against the break-up of the ice in the spring.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)