vault Hear it!

vault1 definition

vault (vôlt)

noun

  1. an arched roof, ceiling, or covering of masonry
  2. an arched chamber or space, esp. when underground
  3. a cellar room used for storage, as of wine
    1. a burial chamber
    2. a concrete or metal enclosure in the ground, into which the casket is lowered at burial
  4. ☆ a secure room, often with individual safe-deposit boxes, for the safekeeping of valuables or money, as in a bank
  5. an underground cave with a naturally arched roof
  6. the sky as a vaultlike canopy
  7. 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

  1. to make a vault over; cover with a vault
  2. to build in the form of a vault

intransitive verb

to curve like a vault
vault2 definition

vault (vôlt)

intransitive verb

to jump, leap, or spring, as over a barrier or from one position to another, esp. with the help of the hands supported on the barrier, etc., or with the aid of a long pole

Etymology: MFr volter < OIt voltare < VL *volvitare: see vault

transitive verb

to vault over to vault a fence

noun

  1. an act of vaulting
  2. a leap or bound made by a horse
  3. Gym. an event in which a gymnast vaults over a horse () with the help of a springboard

Etymology: vaultsense < the v.; vaultsense < Fr volte, a turn, bound, leap < It volta < LL *volta: see vault

Related Forms:

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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