crater 1 of 2

verb

Definition of craternext
1
as in to collapse
to be unsuccessful a time when businesses were cratering left and right

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to plunge
to go to a lower level especially abruptly the stock price cratered when the company filed for Chapter 11

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

crater

2 of 2

noun

as in cave

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crater
Verb
Years later, as his time in office comes toward a close, McConnell is now pushing to close that loophole — but a number of Kentucky farmers and advocates say his proposal could crater a growing industry in the Bluegrass State. — Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 July 2025 The suit also argued that the move to zone students to another traditional middle school in the area would crater both its enrollment and funding and could ultimately force LEAD Cameron to close. — Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Noun
The images also showed bright and dark rays—like butterfly wings—stretching from the crater’s center. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026 Darker smears around the crater’s rim contain surface rocks and lunar dust called regolith previously altered by solar winds, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation over an extended period of time. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for crater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crater
  1. collapse
  2. plunge
  3. cave
  4. flop
  5. dip
  6. cavern
  7. fail
  8. fall
Verb
  • Sunny Patel’s father, Jitendra (ph), traveled to the region from New York for a spiritual retreat, crossing the border into Tibet to start the trek when the glacier collapsed.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Scientists who studied satellite images said bedrock underneath a glacier high in the Himalayan region had collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it.
    — Victoria Milko, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of collapse
Verb
  • The California utility’s stock dropped another 7% after plunging 20% Monday.
    — Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
  • In the same time, shootings plunged 48%, robberies 35% and car thefts 20% — and those levels have generally improved or held this year.
    — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of plunge
Noun
  • Israeli police recently stumbled on an ancient burial cave in an unlikely place while carrying out an operation in Jerusalem.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Researchers have developed cyborg cockroaches that could help deliver emergency medical care to people trapped in collapsed buildings, caves, and other dangerous locations.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of cave
Verb
  • Nurses are fainting on the wards, children are flopping onto their desks at school.
    — Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Of course, drug development is high risk, with the potential for big returns counterbalanced by the products and companies that flop.
    — Avalon Pernell, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of flop
Verb
  • In 2025-26, his first full season as hockey operations adviser and mentor, Chára dipped his toe into multiple buckets, including management and coaching.
    — Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The five new finds below all come in at under $5 apiece, a low-stakes way to dip your toes into fall flavors without spending much.
    — Danielle Bouchard, Martha Stewart, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of dip
Noun
  • This cushion is required at the very top of the caverns to keep the extraction pipes safely submerged in oil rather than the underlying water.
    — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is stored at 60 salt caverns thousands of feet underground at four major sites along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of cavern
Verb
  • Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez provided the margin to prevent a tie, which under House rules is the same as a measure failing outright.
    — Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Multiple attempts at negotiating with Lille remotely had failed to bring about a club-to-club agreement.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of fail
Verb
  • The share of mid-cap companies in that has increased to 20% from 14% while that of 100 large-cap companies has fallen from 78% to 72%, the report showed.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The company says its reactor’s electrical output falls within the range of a high-performance vehicle drivetrain.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of fall

Browse Nearby Words

crate
crater
cratered
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Cite this Entry

“Crater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crater. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on crater

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about crater

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