tab·er·na·cle (t?b??r-n?k??l)n.1. often Tabernacle Bible The portable sanctuary in which the Jews housed the Ark of the Covenant during their years in the desert.2. often Tabernacle A case or box on a church altar containing the consecrated host and wine of the Eucharist.3. A place of worship.4. A niche for a statue or relic.5. Nautical A boxlike support in which the heel of a mast is stepped.[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin tabern?culum, from Latin, tent, diminutive of taberna, hut; see tavern.]tab?er·nac?u·lar (-n?k?y?-l?r) adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.