Etymology From Middle English vaute, vowte, from Old French volte (modern voûte), from Vulgar Latin *volta < *volvita or *volŭta, a regularization of Latin volūta (compare modern volute (“spire”)), the past participle of volvere (“roll, turn”). Cognate with Spanish vuelta (“turn”) and Portuguese volta ("turn"). Doublet of volute. Displaced native Old English hwealf.
An arched masonry structure supporting and forming a ceiling, whether freestanding or forming part of a larger building.
The decoration of the vault of Sainte-Chapelle was much brighter before its 19th-century restoration.
the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault1750 June 12 (date written; published 1751), T[homas] Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”, in Designs by Mr. R[ichard] Bentley, for Six Poems by Mr. T. Gray, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], published 1753, →OCLC:
2
Any arched ceiling or roof.
3
Figuratively Anything resembling such a downward-facing concave structure, particularly caves and the sky or firmament.
The stalactites held tightly to the cave's vault.
His fiery eies are fixt vpon the earth. As if he now deuiſ’d some Stratageme: Or meant to pierce Auernus darkſome vauts. To pull the triple headed dog from hell.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
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Had I your tongues and eyes, Il’d vſe them so, That Heauens vault ſhould crack: ſhe’s gone for euer.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], page 308:
The ſilent vaults of Death, vnknowne to Light; And Hell it ſelfe, lye naked to his ſight.1636, George Sandys, “A Paraphrase upon Job”, in A Paraphrase upon the Divine Poems:
No bird flew in the blue vault of heaven, no man or beast moved upon the vast countryside which lay before us.1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
God said, ‘Let there be a vault through the middle of the waters to divide the waters in two.’1985, Bible (NJB), Genesis, 1:6
4
The space covered by an arched roof, particularly underground rooms and (Christianity, obsolete) church crypts.
5
Any cellar or underground storeroom.
to banish rats that haunt our vault1730, Jonathan Swift, A Panegyrick on the Dean:
6
Any burial chamber, particularly those underground.
Holonyms: catacomb, cuniculus
Near-synonyms: crypt, mausoleum
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Family members had been buried in the vault for centuries.
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The secure room or rooms in or below a bank used to store currency and other valuables; similar rooms in other settings.
During the extreme civil disorder prior to January 22, 1976 in Beirut, Lebanon, a guerrilla force blasted the vaults of the British Bank of the Middle East in Bab Idriss and cleared out safe deposit boxes with contents valued by former Finance Minister Lucien Dahadah at $50 million, and by another source at an "absolute minimum" of $20 million.1978, Norris McWhirter (editor and compiler), Guinness Book of World Records 1978, page 400:
Etymology From Middle English vaute, vowte, from Old French volte (modern voûte), from Vulgar Latin *volta < *volvita or *volŭta, a regularization of Latin volūta (compare modern volute (“spire”)), the past participle of volvere (“roll, turn”). Cognate with Spanish vuelta (“turn”) and Portuguese volta ("turn"). Doublet of volute. Displaced native Old English hwealf.
1
To build as, or cover with a vault.
The shady arch that vaulted the broad green alley.1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:
2
To store in a vault.
3
Video games To remove (an item, character, etc.) from a video game in an update.
In future updates, most likely in season six, more items will get vaulted.2018 August 31, Steven Asarch, “'Fortnite' Developer Update 5.40: Storm Destruction, Revolver in Vault”, in Newsweek, New York, N.Y.: Newsweek Publishing LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Oct 2018:
While vaulting some old content may turn off a few players, Bungie seems intent on bringing as many players under its tent as possible first.2020 June 9, Gene Park, “Bungie is finally coming through with its old promise of a 10-year ’Destiny’ plan”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Jul 2020:
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Blizzard will vault the gorgeous Hanamura and other Assault maps from Overwatch's competitive mode when 'Overwatch 2' arrives.2021 February 19, Kris Holt, “Overwatch 2 Will Ditch The Widely Disliked Assault/2CP Maps”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Feb 2023:
While some mistakes have resulted in Riot pulling Agents in the past, those changes were always temporary. If Riot is set on having only seven maps in the "Valorant," that likely means Split isn't coming back and more maps will get vaulted in the future.2022 June 17, James Carr, “The Real Reason Valorant Is Dropping Its Oldest Map”, in SVG.com, archived from the original on 28 Nov 2022:
vault
verb
Etymology Borrowed from Middle French volter (“to turn or spin around; to frolic”), borrowed from Italian voltare, itself from a Vulgar Latin frequentative form of Latin volvere; later assimilated to Etymology 1, above.
1
Ambitransitive To jump or leap over with a hand and/or foot on the item for support.
The fugitive vaulted over the fence to escape.
The fugitive vaulted the fence to escape.
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Parkour – often referred to as freerunning – entails creatively moving through an urban environment: flipping, jumping and vaulting across various obstacles.2022 June 16, Issy Ronald, “Meet the parkour athletes defying fear and gravity at Red Bull Art of Motion”, in CNN, archived from the original on 26 Jun 2022:
Etymology Borrowed from Middle French volter (“to turn or spin around; to frolic”), borrowed from Italian voltare, itself from a Vulgar Latin frequentative form of Latin volvere; later assimilated to Etymology 1, above.
1
An act of vaulting, formerly (chiefly) by deer; a leap or jump.
2
Gymnastics, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A piece of apparatus used for performing jumps.
3
Gymnastics, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A gymnastic movement performed on this apparatus.
Each vault has three segments: “preflight” (the movement from the springboard onto the table), “block” (the moment the hands touch and leave the table) and “postflight” (the flips and twists before landing). […] Handspring and Tsukahara vaults are less common than Yurchenko-style vaults, but some gymnasts specialize in them.2024 July 27, Maggie Astor, “Your Guide to Olympic Gymnastics: Vault”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 31 Jul 2024: