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Synonyms

barrel vault

American  

noun

Architecture.
  1. a vault having the form of a very deep arch.


barrel vault British  

noun

  1. Also called: wagon vault.   tunnel vaultarchitect a vault in the form of a half cylinder

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of barrel vault

First recorded in 1840–50

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.

See Examples For:

There is no grand lobby with barrel vault ceiling; instead, the viewer is greeted by the sloping walls and gentle asymmetries of a rough-hewn cave, our most archaic form of shelter.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 29, 2023

And “the barrel vault over the library distinctly recalls Stourhead,” an 18th-century Palladian house in the English county of Wiltshire, he noted.

From Seattle Times Jan. 3, 2022

Their proposal: a barrel vault higher than Grand Central Terminal, adorned with a 10-story clock said to be the world’s biggest.

From Slate Sep. 21, 2018

Inside, the bank’s signature barrel vault sits near the front window, emblazoned with “Farmers & Miners Bank,” the institution’s name when it opened in 1883.

From Washington Times Apr. 23, 2016

In some respects the likeness to São Vicente is very considerable; there are coupled Doric pilasters between the chapels, the barrel vault is coffered, and the chapel arches are extremely plain.

From Portuguese Architecture by Watson, Walter Crum

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