vault
vault — noun
1. a heavily reinforced room, normally found inside a bank, whose massive concrete
a heavily reinforced room, normally found inside a bank, whose massive concrete or steel walls and locked metal entrance keep cash, gold bars, jewellery, and other valuables safe from theft.
Ramón slid the diamond necklace into a deposit box inside the hotel's vault.
into / inside the vault
Three armed guards watched as the manager unlocked the bank's main vault.
the bank's vault
The robbers spent two hours drilling through the steel door of the underground vault.
Old film reels are stored in a temperature-controlled vault beneath the studio.
Meera signed three forms before staff would let her into the vault.
- safe
smaller box-sized container, not a whole room
- strongroom
near-equivalent; common in British usage
- depository
broader term for any building used to store valuables
文法句型
in the vault
the bank's vault
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person handling valuables or an institution; objects stored are typically cash, jewellery, gold, documents, or master copies. Often paired with 'lock', 'unlock', 'break into', or 'store in'.
常見錯誤
2. a curved stone or brick roof shaped like one or several arches joined together,
a curved stone or brick roof shaped like one or several arches joined together, often seen above the main hall of an old church or grand public building.
Hui tilted her head back to admire the painted vault of the cathedral.
the vault of [building] for an arched ceiling
Stone vaults rose above the long hallway of the medieval abbey in Burgundy.
plural: stone vaults rose above [space]
The architect designed a glass vault to let sunlight pour into the museum's atrium.
Workers carefully repaired cracks in the vault above the abbey's main altar.
文法句型
the vault of [building]
用法筆記
Often appears with descriptive modifiers (barrel vault, ribbed vault, fan vault) in writing about churches, castles, and historical buildings. Distinct from sense 1 (bank room) and sense 3 (burial chamber).
常見錯誤
3. a small stone room beneath a church or inside a graveyard, where coffins of dead
a small stone room beneath a church or inside a graveyard, where coffins of dead family members are placed side by side instead of being put under the earth.
Generations of the Whitfield family rest in a marble vault below the village chapel.
rest in a vault
Zayd's grandfather had asked to be laid to rest in the family vault near Cairo.
the family vault
Tour guides led visitors down stone steps into the cold burial vault under the cathedral.
Workers sealed the entrance to the vault after the funeral service ended.
文法句型
family vault
the vault of [family/church]
用法筆記
Distinct from sense 2 (architectural roof) even though the burial chamber often has an arched ceiling — here the focus is on the chamber as a place of burial. Frequently modified by 'family', 'burial', or 'royal'.
常見錯誤
4. a single jump in which someone leaps over something tall, usually by pushing off
a single jump in which someone leaps over something tall, usually by pushing off with their hands or with a long pole, often as part of a sport or escape.
Nala scored a perfect ten on her final vault at the national gymnastics championship.
score on a vault (gymnastics context)
The thief escaped with a single vault over the garden wall and disappeared down the alley.
a vault over [obstacle]
Eli's pole vault cleared five metres and broke the school record.
One quick vault took the runner clear of the fallen branch on the trail.
文法句型
a vault over [obstacle]
pole vault / gymnastic vault
用法筆記
Often the noun form of the verb sense 1; common in gymnastics ('vault apparatus', 'vault routine') and athletics ('pole vault'). The plural 'vaults' counts separate jumps.
vault — verb
1. to clear something tall in one quick jump, pushing yourself up and over with you
to clear something tall in one quick jump, pushing yourself up and over with your hands pressed on it or with the help of a long pole.
Christopher vaulted over the wooden fence and ran after the loose dog.
vault over [obstacle]
The young soldier vaulted the low wall in a single smooth movement.
transitive: vault [obstacle] (no preposition)
Reuben gripped the long pole, ran ten quick steps, and vaulted high above the bar.
Apinya vaulted lightly onto the back of the horse without using the stirrups.
Hoa vaulted off the gym box and landed neatly on both feet.
- crawl under
going below an obstacle instead of over
文法句型
vault over [obstacle]
vault [obstacle]
vault onto / off [surface]
用法筆記
Subject is animate (a person or sometimes an animal); object or following preposition phrase names what is jumped over. Stronger and more skilled-sounding than 'jump over' — implies athletic technique.
常見錯誤
2. to lift a person, team, or thing out of where they are now and place them, all a
to lift a person, team, or thing out of where they are now and place them, all at once, into a much higher and more important position — for example, a single hit song lifting an unknown singer to international stardom.
One viral performance vaulted Élise from a small choir into international stardom overnight.
vault [person] from [low position] into [high position]
The startling election result vaulted Selim to the top of his party in a single week.
vault [person] to the top of [organisation]
A surprise victory in Madrid vaulted the underdog team into the league finals.
Madison was vaulted into the chief editor's role after the previous editor resigned.
- demote
move down rather than up in status
文法句型
vault someone/something to/into [position]
be vaulted to fame / stardom / power
用法筆記
Frequently passive and used in journalism about sudden career or political success. The subject (active) is typically an event, achievement, or scandal; the object is the person or group that benefits. Distinct from sense 1 (physical jump) — here the leap is metaphorical.