vaulting

Springing over obstacles

Vaulting describes ambitious leaping beyond normal bounds: vaulting ambition, vaulting hopes.

The word suggests overreaching—aspiring to heights that may prove unreachable.

Shakespeare's "vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself" gave the word its lasting association with excessive striving.

As a noun, vaulting refers to arched ceilings or roofs, or the sport of leaping over obstacles: pole vaulting, equestrian vaulting.

gymnastics

pommel horse

Handled gymnastics apparatus

springboardFlexible platform for jumping
somersaultFull-body forward rotation
tumblingAcrobatic rolling and flipping

handstand · cartwheel · dismount · acrobatics · flips · aerial · routine · leotard · chalk · uneven bars

ambition

aspiration

Strong desire for achievement

overreachingExceeding proper limits
hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
soaringRising effortlessly upward

lofty · towering · boundless · unchecked · Macbeth · pride · striving · presumption · excessive · blind

architecture

arch

Curved spanning structure

ribCurved chest bone
groinHip-thigh junction
barrelHooped cylindrical vessel

fan · dome · cathedral · nave · keystone · buttress · flying buttress · ogive · apse · spandrel

equestrian

horse

Domesticated riding animal

canterModerate equine gait
mountClimb up or steed
dismountGet off something ridden

pirouette · trick riding · bareback · circling · freestyle · compulsory · music · handler · surcingle · pad

Categories

movementwalk, move, go, run, jump
actionsrun, walk, jump, move, push
architectureEiffel Tower, buildings, architects, design, thatching
gymnasticsgymnastics, balance beam, floor exercise, handstand, parallel bars
circus acrobaticsacrobats, trapeze, trapeze artists, flying trapeze, tightrope
exertioneffort, straining, strain, heaving, labor

Opposites

ambition/aspiration

vaultingmodest

Lacking in pretension

humble · unambitious · timid · meek · content

physical movement direction

vaultingcrawling

Moving on hands, knees

ducking · crouching · stooping · slithering · burrowing

boldness/confidence

vaultingtimid

Lacking courage or confidence

cautious · hesitant · fearful · timorous · cowardly

Phrases

pole vaultingLeaping with a long staff
vaulting horseGymnastic apparatus for leaping
vaulting poleFlexible bar for leaping

Family

vault, vaulted, vaults, vaulter, vaultlike, vaulters

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G