ark
1 Americannoun
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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.
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Judaism. Ark, Holy Ark.
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a flatboat formerly used on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
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Nautical. life car.
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Archaic. a chest or box.
abbreviation
noun
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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)
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informal very old; out of date
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a place or thing offering shelter or protection
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dialect a chest, box, or coffer
noun
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Also called: Holy Ark. the cupboard at the front of a synagogue, usually in the eastern wall, in which the Torah scrolls are kept
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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
abbreviation
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In each market mania, new celebrity stock pickers get anointed, from Ryan Jacob and his Internet Fund during the dot-com era to Cathie Wood and her ARK Innovation ETF during the pandemic rally of 2020.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
ARK Invest’s flagship ETF and Berkshire Hathaway both acquired Alphabet shares, with Berkshire buying $10 billion at a 6% discount.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
ARK Invest sold 110,207 AMD shares, valued at $56.9 million, while still holding a larger position in AMD than Nvidia.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Mutual-fund investor Cathie Wood, who has fielded criticism for her aggressive buying of tech and other stocks, has 17% of her ARK Venture Fund’s net assets in SpaceX as of March 31.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
ARK of a Mill, s. the place in which the water-wheel moves.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume XXIV. by Leighton, Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.