ark

¹ American  

[ahrk] / ɑrk /

noun

1. Noah's Ark.

2. Also called ark of the covenant.  a chest or box containing the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, carried by the Israelites in their wanderings in the desert after the Exodus: the most sacred object of the tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem, where it was kept in the holy of holies.

3. Judaism. Ark, Holy Ark.

4. a place of protection or security; refuge; asylum.

5. a flatboat formerly used on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

6. Nautical. life car.

7. Archaic. a chest or box.

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Ark. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Arkansas.

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ark ¹ British  

/ ɑːk /

noun

1. the vessel that Noah built and in which he saved himself, his family, and a number of animals and birds during the Flood (Genesis 6–9)

2. informal very old; out of date

3. a place or thing offering shelter or protection

4. dialect a chest, box, or coffer

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Ark ² British  

/ ɑːk /

noun

1. Also called: Holy Ark.  the cupboard at the front of a synagogue, usually in the eastern wall, in which the Torah scrolls are kept

2. Also called: Ark of the Covenant.  the most sacred symbol of God's presence among the Hebrew people, carried in their journey from Sinai to the Promised Land (Canaan) and eventually enshrined in the holy of holies of the Temple in Jerusalem

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Ark. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Arkansas

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Etymology

Origin of ark

First recorded before 850; Middle English ark(e), erke, Old English arc, earc(e) (compare Old Frisian erke, arke, Dutch ark, Old High German, Gothic arka, Old Norse ǫrk ), from Latin arca “chest, coffer,” derivative of arcēre “to safeguard,” cognate with Hittite h̬ark- “hold, possess”

Example Sentences

I follow her gaze to a team of people struggling to carry their boat, which is a not-so-mini version of Noah’s ark.

From Literature

Unassuming from the outside, the shop opens into a huge ark of mortar-crusted brick and ribcage-like beams, with long dining tables displaying shapely vases, pitchers, teacups and plates in shades of apricot, amber and malachite.

From The Wall Street Journal

She’d lived in her house in the grove since right after the ark came ashore.

From Literature

The first is an entry room where a storm is brewing and animals are loaded into the ark.

From Los Angeles Times

The king needed to build a great temple for his people, a place in which the ark and sacred covenant made between his people and the Most Holy, Blessed Be He, would be honored.

From Literature