refuge
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
shelter or protection, as from the weather or danger
-
any place, person, action, or thing that offers or appears to offer protection, help, or relief
accused of incompetence, he took refuge in lying
-
another name for traffic island
verb
Etymology
Origin of refuge
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin refugium, from refug(ere) “to turn and flee, run away” ( re- re- + fugere “to flee”; fugitive ) + -ium -ium
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.
The narrator’s terribly British father takes refuge from the emotional storms of his household by listening to jazz records in his office.
From Los Angeles Times
The grandmothers might still smile warmly at me, but they are no longer my grandmothers, and I am no longer a child, so why should they offer me refuge.
From Los Angeles Times
Foreign and US clients are rushing to buy his bunkers, seeking refuge in case of air raids, nuclear fallout or apocalypse.
From Barron's
Australia has provided humanitarian visas to five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who sought refuge after the players were criticized by Iran’s state media for not singing the country’s national anthem.
“Reduce exposure to equities, and seek refuge in gold, and inflation-linked bonds.”
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
