to fall or fail very suddenly and by a large amount, especially in price, value, or success.
After the scandal broke, the company's stock price cratered overnight.
Sales will crater if we ignore customer feedback.
✦ Figurative extension (late 20th century) from the noun sense ‘hole left by an explosion’; the sudden drop in value is likened to an explosive impact.
to create a deep round hole in something by a violent impact or explosion.
The meteor strike cratered the desert floor, leaving a rim of shattered rocks.
Artillery shells cratered the battlefield during the night.
✦ Derived from the noun ‘crater’; first recorded in the 1920s to describe the effects of shellfire in World War I.
