noun / verb
vault
A leap upward or over an obstacle.
The runner plants both hands on the fence and vaults over it.
Etymology
The older verb means leaping or turning. The athletic sense preserves a leap that carries the body upward or across an obstacle.
More examples
- He clears the low wall with a single vault.
- Her final vault earns the highest score of the meet.
- The victory vaults the team into first place.
Forms
vault · vaults · vaulted · vaulting
vaulter noun — A person who performs athletic vaults.