tabernacle

UK: /ˈtæbəˌnæk^əl/ US: /ˈtæbɚˌnækəl/ ,(tab′ər nak′əl)

Inflections of 'tabernacle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

tabernacles

v 3rd person singular

tabernacling

v pres p

tabernacled

v past

tabernacled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

tab•er•nac•le /ˈtæbɚˌnækəl/   n. [countable]

1. a house of worship, esp. for a large congregation.
2. Judaism [often: Tabernacle] the portable tentlike structure used as a place of worship by the ancient Israelites.
3. Religion an ornamental box for keeping the Eucharist.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tab•er•nac•le  (tab′ər nak′əl), n., v., -led, -ling. 
n. 

1. any place or house of worship, esp. one designed for a large congregation.
2. Judaism (often cap.) the portable sanctuary in use by the Israelites from the time of their wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt to the building of the Temple in Jerusalem by Solomon. Ex. 25–27.
3. Religion [Eccles.] an ornamental receptacle for the reserved Eucharist, now generally found on the altar.
4. a canopied niche or recess, as for an image or icon.
5. a temporary dwelling or shelter, as a tent or hut.
6. a dwelling place.
7. the human body as the temporary abode of the soul.

v.t., v.i. 

8. to place or dwell in, or as if in, a tabernacle.

• Late Latin tabernāculum, Latin: tent, equivalent. to tabern(a) hut, stall, inn (compare tavern) + -āculum, probably extracted from hibernāculum winter quarters (see hibernaculum)
• 1200–50; Middle English

tab•er•nac•u•lar  (tab′ər nak′yə lər), adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tabernacle / ˈtæbəˌnæk^əl/ noun

1. (often capital) the portable sanctuary in the form of a tent in which the ancient Israelites carried the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25–27)
2. the Jewish Temple regarded as the shrine of the divine presence
3. a meeting place for worship used by Nonconformists or Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
4. a small ornamented cupboard or box used for the reserved sacrament of the Eucharist
5. a canopied niche or recess forming the shrine of a statue
6. a strong framework for holding the foot of a mast stepped on deck, allowing it to be swung down horizontally to pass under low bridges, etc

Etymology: 13th Century: from Latin tabernāculum a tent, from taberna a hut; see tavern

ˌtaberˈnacular adjective