vault

VAHLT/vɑlt/SayVOLTUK/vɒlt//vɔlt/

20 meanings of vault

1
strong roomnouncountable
A strong, locked room where a bank, or another place, keeps money and valuable things safe.
The bank's vault has a huge steel door.
The gold bars are kept in a vault deep under the building.
Similarstrongroom
2
leap oververbtransitive or intransitive
To jump over something by putting your hand or foot on it to help.
The boy vaulted the low wall and ran home.
Can you vault over that fence?
Similarleap, jump, hurdle, clear, spring
Note
3
arched roofnouncountable
A curved stone or brick ceiling or roof, shaped like an arch.
We looked up at the painted vault of the old church.
The stone vault over the great hall has stood for six hundred years.
Similararch, ceiling, roof
Note
4
tombnouncountable
A room, often under the ground, where dead people are buried.
The old lord was buried in the family vault.
Stone steps lead down to the vault where the town's first mayor lies.
Similartomb
Note
5
gymnastics jumpnouncountable
In gymnastics, a jump in which you push off the vault with your hands and fly over it.
He fell on his first vault but did much better on the second.
The crowd cheered when she landed her vault perfectly.
Note
6
jumping tablenouncountable
In gymnastics, the piece of equipment that people run at and jump over.
The vault stands at the end of a long runway.
Workers set up the vault in the middle of the gym.
Note
7
cellarnouncountable
A room under the ground, used for keeping things.
They kept potatoes in the vault under the house.
Rats had gotten into the vault where the grain was stored.
Similarcellar
8
media archivenounfigurativelycountable
A collection of old things, like songs, shows, or articles, that has been kept.
The studio found an old cartoon in its vault.
Fans love it when the singer shares songs from the vault.
Similararchive, archives
9
underground hallnouncountable
The space under a curved roof, often a room under the ground.
Our voices echoed in the long vault under the castle.
The monks prayed by candlelight in the vault below the church.
Similarcrypt, undercroft, chamber
Note
10
natural ceilingnounfigurativelycountable
Something curved over you like a ceiling, like the sky or the top of a cave.
We lay on the grass and looked up at the blue vault of the sky.
Water dripped from the rocky vault of the cave.
Similardome, canopy, arch
Note

11
nouncountable
A jump or leap, in the past used mostly about deer.
The deer crossed the creek in one great vault.
She made a quick vault over the gate and ran to the house.
Similarleap, jump, bound, spring
12
build archesverbtransitive
To build something in the shape of a curved roof, or to cover a place with one.
The workers vaulted the old hall with brick.
The architect wants to vault the entrance with glass and steel.
Similararch
Note
13
lock awayverbtransitive
To put something in a vault to keep it safe.
The family decided to vault Grandma's jewels at the bank.
The museum vaults its best paintings when they are not on show.
Similarstore
14
digital safenouncountable
In computing, a safe place where files are locked with a secret code.
I keep all my passwords in a vault on my phone.
Only people with the right code can open the vault on the server.
Note
15
gymnastics eventnoununcountable
In gymnastics, the event where people jump over the vaulting horse.
He is best at vault, but he also does the rings.
Our team scored well in the vault this year.
Note
16
remove (games)verbtransitive
In video games, to take something like a weapon or a map out of the game in an update.
They vaulted my favorite weapon in the new update.
The game makers plan to vault three old maps next season.
Similarremove
Note
17
circle (riding)nouncountable
In horse riding, a movement where the horse goes around in a circle.
The horse turned a small, neat vault in the corner of the ring.
Her teacher asked her to ride a vault at each end of the arena.
Similarvolte
Note
18
drainnounobsolete
A covered channel, often under the ground, that carries away water or waste.
After the storm, rainwater rushed along the vault under the street.
Workers cleaned out the old vault that carried waste to the river.
Note
19
nounobsolete
A covered tank, often under the ground, that holds water or waste.
Rainwater from the roof was stored in a vault under the yard.
The farmer had to empty the vault behind the barn every spring.
Note
20
toilet roomnounobsoleteeuphemistic
A polite word for a toilet, like an outhouse.
The farmhouse had no toilet inside, just a vault out in the yard.
She quietly asked the innkeeper where the vault was.
Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1, 3–4, 7–10, 12–14, 16, 18–20

From a Latin word meaning “to roll” or “to turn.”

Meanings 2, 5–6, 11, 15, 17

From a French word meaning “to turn or spin around,” which came from Italian.