What does crater mean?
Word: Crater
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Crater means a large round hole in the ground, like the bowl-shaped top of a volcano or a dent made when a rock from space strikes a planet.
How do you spell crater?
Syllables: cra - ter
Tricky part: The word ends in er, not or or re. You hear only a weak sound at the end, so it is easy to pick the wrong ending.
Watch out for: crator, cratre
Memory tip: Picture a moon rover driving round a crater: rover and crater finish with the same er.
Crater in a sentence
Example 1: Our science teacher showed us a photo of the huge crater at the top of a volcano.
Example 2: Steam rose gently from the crater as the tour guide told us about the old volcano.
Example 3: Riya pressed a marble into soft clay to make a tiny crater for her science project.
Fun Fact
The word comes from a Greek word for a large bowl used for mixing drinks, which is why a bowl-shaped hole was given the same name.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Oliver counted every craiter he could spot on the poster of the planets.
a) counted
b) poster
c) craiter
d) spot
Show answer
c) craiter. The long a sound here is a plain a, made long by the e that comes later.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
cratter
a) e
b) t
c) a
d) r
Show answer
b) t. A single t is right; two t's would make the a short, as in batter.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word: crater
a) slope
b) summit
c) pit
d) ridge
Show answer
c) pit. A pit is a large hole in the ground, and that is what a crater is too.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) astronawt
b) volcanoe
c) crater
d) meteorit
Show answer
c) crater. Volcano has no e at the end, meteorite ends in ite, and astronaut is spelt with au.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. On which of these would you find many craters?
a) a calm sandy beach
b) the surface of the Moon
c) a flat paddy field
d) a smooth marble floor
Show answer
b) the surface of the Moon
2. After many years of rain, an old crater in the hills might fill up and become a ____.
a) desert
b) glacier
c) lake
d) cave
Show answer
c) lake
