ark

noun \ ˈärk \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of ark

1 a : a boat or ship held to resemble that in which Noah and his family were preserved from the Flood

b : something that affords protection and safety

2 a : the sacred chest representing to the Hebrews the presence of God among them

b : a repository traditionally in or against the wall of a synagogue for the scrolls of the Torah

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Recent Examples of ark from the Web

Krohn also donated the ark, chairs, books and — perhaps most remarkably — his family's Torah, brought from Europe, to Beth Hebrew.

— jessica boehm, azcentral, "Effort to save Phoenix's first Orthodox Jewish synagogue reveals forgotten history," 23 Mar. 2018
When spelling the word out doesn’t work, Pig Latin is another way to keep, say, a potential trip to the ark-pay or oo-zay covert.

— mark peters, BostonGlobe.com, "Pig Latin is alive and ellway," 11 Mar. 2018
Its ceiling resembles an upside-down ark and contains extensive artwork given to the church by local artists.

— bradley zint, latimes.com, "Progressive Laguna Beach church celebrates 75 years," 7 Mar. 2018
In the music video, Lamar is on a voyage to (and through) Africa that starts in an ark-like vessel with a sea of hands waving below.

— taylor hosking, The Atlantic, "How a Black Panther Music Video Taps Into an Old Trend," 1 Mar. 2018
Of the many crowd favorites, the 80-foot-long Noah’s ark stood out, along with a snake, Humpty Dumpty and a bunch of elves scary-looking enough to haunt Christmas Eve dreams.

— bill van niekerken, San Francisco Chronicle, "The Oakland holiday balloon parade that drew 300,000 people to the city," 26 Dec. 2017
But future humans might build interstellar arks, giant ships on which generations of travelers would live and die before delivering colonists to a new destination.

— NBC News, "How humans might outlive Earth, the sun...and even the universe," 20 Dec. 2017
Instead, curl up in the corner with a cup of tea next to a single reading lamp; sit down to dinner lit only by a sculptural ark lamp; get into bed early with a good book illuminated by a pair of bedside lights.

— virginia van zanten, Vogue, "17 Magical Lamps to Brighten Up the Darkest Day of the Year," 18 Dec. 2017
It is said in the movie that Adolf Hitler thought having the ark would make his army invincible.

— john petkovic, cleveland.com, "Garage-rock legend Roky Erickson to hit Beachland Ballroom," 13 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ark.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

A boat or ship held to resemble the one in which Noah and his family were preserved from the Flood is known as an ark. From this meaning comes the figurative meaning of ark as something that affords protection or safety. Ark is derived from the Latin word arca, meaning “chest,” which is akin to the Latin verb arcēre, meaning “to hold off or defend.” These Latin roots also gave us the use of ark to refer to the sacred chest representing to the Hebrews the presence of God among them and also to a repository that traditionally is in, or against, the wall of a synagogue for the scrolls of the Jewish Torah.

Origin and Etymology of ark

Middle English, from Old English arc, from Latin arca chest; akin to Latin arcēre to hold off, defend, Greek arkein, Hittite ḫark- to have, hold

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First Known Use: before 12th century

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Ark

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ARK Defined for Kids

ark

noun, often capitalized \ ˈärk \

Definition of ark for Students

1 : the ship in which an ancient Hebrew of the Bible named Noah and his family were saved from a great flood that God sent down on the world because of its wickedness

2 : a cabinet in a synagogue for the scrolls of the Torah

Ark.

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Arkansas

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