From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
crater
n 1: a bowl-shaped opening at the top of a volcano [syn:
volcanic crater]
2: a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Hydra
and Corvus [syn: Crater]
3: a bowl-shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite
or bomb
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Crater \Cra"ter\ (kr[=a]"t[~e]r), n. [L. crater, cratera, a
mixing vessel, the mouth of a volcano, Gr. krath`r, fr.
keranny`nai to mix; cf. Skr. [,c]r[imac] to mix, [,c]ir to
cook, [,c]r[=a] to cook. Cf. Grail, in Holy Grail.]
1. 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.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Mil.) The pit left by the explosion of a bomb, shell, or
mine.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Astron.) A constellation of the southen hemisphere; --
called also the Cup.
[1913 Webster]