What does cratering mean?
Cratering refers to the formation of craters — the bowl-shaped depressions left behind when a surface is struck by meteorites, rocked by explosions, or undermined by collapse. The term is most familiar in planetary science, where scientists compare rates of cratering to estimate the age of moons and planets, and in military descriptions of bomb-scarred terrain. Over recent decades, however, the word has taken on a vivid figurative life in economics and journalism: when sales, profits, ratings, or approval figures are described as 'cratering', the image is one of sudden, catastrophic freefall rather than a gentle dip. This metaphor borrows the drama of the original sense, making cratering a punchy way to signal that something has fallen hard and fast. Whether describing the scarred face of the Moon or a collapsing share price, cratering conveys forceful, often irreversible damage.
The process or result of forming craters in a surface; also, figuratively, a sudden severe collapse in value or performance.
"Heavy cratering across the region testified to centuries of bombardment."
The figurative sense is uncountable and journalistic; the literal sense is standard in geology and astronomy.
Present participle of 'to crater': to make craters in something, or to fall dramatically in value, amount, or quality.
"Revenue was cratering long before the merger was announced."
Wall Street borrowed this lunar word for disaster: when a stock 'craters', investors imagine its price chart punched into a moon-like pit.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cratering
The word traces back through Latin 'crater' to Greek 'krater', meaning a large mixing bowl used for diluting wine with water — the same vessel that gives us the constellation name Crater. English adopted 'crater' in the early 17th century, first for volcanic basins before the sense widened to impact depressions on the Moon and Earth. The verb 'to crater' and its gerund 'cratering' developed later from this noun, and the figurative financial sense of a value falling like a struck surface emerged in American English during the twentieth century.
Related word forms
How cratering is actually used
In financial and media contexts, 'cratering' carries strong negative connotation and implies speed and severity beyond an ordinary decline — it suggests freefall rather than gradual erosion. The literal sense appears mainly in technical writing about geology, astronomy, and ballistics.
Easily confused with cratering
A crater is the bowl-shaped depression itself, while cratering refers to the act or process of creating such depressions — or figuratively, a dramatic collapse.