Noun (1)
archaeologists were thrilled to discover an ancient vault that hadn't been looted by grave robbers Verb (2)vaulted over the obstacle with easeNoun (2)
a vault over the car's hood by the frightened deer
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Noun
The 17-year-old has already collected two gold medals at this year’s World Cup circuit, one on vault and another on floor exercise.—Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025 The fact that neither could get off the floor was another negative; Queen’s 23-inch no-step vertical was the worst at the combine, and Broome’s 24 1/2-inch vault was not much better.—John Hollinger, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Verb
A week after the hurricane, back in Milwaukee, Alonso hit the ninth-inning Wild Card Series-winning homer that vaulted the Mets over the Brewers into an NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 8 May 2025 The New York Islanders, who held the 10th-best odds heading into the lottery, vaulted into the No. 1 spot.—Carol Schram, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for vault
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English vaute, voute, borrowed from Anglo-French voute, volte, going back to Vulgar Latin *volvita "turn, arched structure," noun derivative from feminine of *volvitus, re-formation of Latin volūtus, past participle of volvere "to travel (a circular course), bring round, roll" — more at wallow entry 1
Verb (1)
Middle English vowten, borrowed from Anglo-French vouter, verbal derivative of voutevault entry 1
Verb (2)
probably borrowed from Middle French vouster "to turn about (on horseback), wheel, prance," going back to Vulgar Latin *volvitāre, frequentative of Latin volvere "to travel (a circular course), bring round, roll" — more at wallow entry 1
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