vault
/vɑlt/noun, verb
vault is spelled V-A-U-L-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.9 times per million words in written English, the 8,266th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “vault vs volt” about 10 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, vault means “An arched masonry structure supporting and forming a ceiling, whether freestanding or forming part of a larger building” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of vault is vaults.
How many letters and syllables are in vault?
| Letters | 5: V-A-U-L-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.9 times per million words; the 8,266th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is vault?
Vault appears 7.9 times per million words in written English, the 8,266th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce vault?
- UK /vɒlt/
- UK /vɔːlt/
- US /vɑlt/
Vault has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-vault.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-vault.wav, En-au-vault.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with vault
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with vault?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as vault from its last stressed vowel (/ɑlt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of vault
- vaults plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- vaulting participle, present
- vaulted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vault mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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.
- 2
Any arched ceiling or roof.
- 3
Anything resembling such a downward-facing concave structure, particularly caves and the sky or firmament.
The stalactites held tightly to the cave's vault.
- 4
The space covered by an arched roof, particularly underground rooms and (Christianity, obsolete) church crypts.
- 5
Any cellar or underground storeroom.
- 6
Any burial chamber, particularly those underground.
Holonyms: catacomb, cuniculus
- 7
The secure room or rooms in or below a bank used to store currency and other valuables; similar rooms in other settings.
- 8
Any archive of past content.
- 9
An act of vaulting, formerly (chiefly) by deer; a leap or jump.
- 10
A piece of apparatus used for performing jumps.
- 11
A gymnastic movement performed on this apparatus.
- 12
Synonym of volte: a circular movement by the horse.
- 13
An event or performance involving a vaulting horse.
verb
- 1
To build as, or cover with a vault.
- 2
To store in a vault.
- 3
To remove (an item, character, etc.) from a video game in an update.
- 4
To jump or leap over with a hand and/or foot on the item for support.
The fugitive vaulted over the fence to escape.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate vault?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of vault: VT.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vault in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | voûte, voute , voûte f or voute, cellier , bondir , perche |
| German | Gewölbe, Gewölbebogen , Deckengewölbe, Bogendach, Tonnendach , (sich) wölben |
| Portuguese | abóbada , mesa , abobadar , salto sobre a mesa |
| Spanish | bóveda , saltar , abovedar , salto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does vault come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).