Pronunciation: (ärk), [key]
1. (sometimes cap.) Also called Noah's Ark. the large boat built by Noah in which he saved himself, his family, and a pair of every kind of creature during the Flood. Gen. 6–9.
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. a place of protection or security; refuge; asylum.
4. (cap.) Judaism.See Holy Ark.
5. a flatboat formerly used on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
6. Naut.See life car.
7. Archaic.a chest or box.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.