vault
vault (vôlt)
noun
- an arched roof, ceiling, or covering of masonry
- an arched chamber or space, esp. when underground
- a cellar room used for storage, as of wine
- a burial chamber
- a concrete or metal enclosure in the ground, into which the casket is lowered at burial
- ☆ a secure room, often with individual safe-deposit boxes, for the safekeeping of valuables or money, as in a bank
- an underground cave with a naturally arched roof
- the sky as a vaultlike canopy
- Anat. any arched cavity or structure the cranial vault
Etymology: ME voute < OFr < VL *volvita, an arch, vault < *volvitus, pp. of *volvitare, intens. of L volvere, to turn around, roll: see walk
transitive verb
- to make a vault over; cover with a vault
- to build in the form of a vault
intransitive verb
vault (vôlt)
intransitive verb
Etymology: MFr volter < OIt voltare < VL *volvitare: see vault
transitive verb
Related Forms:
- vaulter vault′er noun
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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