refuge
Americannoun
-
refuges
plural
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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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”; see fugitive) + -ium -ium
Explanation
To take refuge is to find a safe place. You might take refuge under a bridge in a hail storm, or in a basement during a tornado. Refuge comes from a French word meaning "to flee," and, in most cases, a refuge is a place to flee to in order to get away from people or places that are unsafe. A refuge is a safe place, such as a building or even another country, as in "they sought refuge from the war by leaving their homeland," or it is a simple, personal place of comfort — like a friend's couch.
Vocabulary lists containing refuge
The Star-Spangled Banner
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Persepolis
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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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.
See Examples For:
The two clergy agree that many locals view their respective communities as "a refuge" against life in an area with poverty rates far above the national average.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
Researchers believe the area functioned as a relatively stable ecological refuge, maintaining vital habitats and resources over long periods.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Welcome to a bright-yellow refuge from our toxic modern society:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Protesters took refuge in a cafe where even the eyes of the waiters streamed from the teargas.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
It was a place you could take refuge, if you knew how to get in.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Only the most extreme climate simulations eliminated these potential refuges.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
Mobile home parks in Carson are among the last refuges of affordable housing for many residents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Meanwhile, many cities have established "heat refuges", which are air-conditioned public buildings where anyone can go in and escape the worst of the weather.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Other such eastern refuges were established, and it looked for a time as if the problem of how to preserve America’s most despised animal had been found.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
These farmlands around the refuges are now irrigated by > water from Upper Klamath Lake.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
“People are homeless, they have been refuged to the mountains.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2022
The Serb students refuged in London had post cards printed of the murderer Princip, on which he was described as a national hero!
From Twenty Years Of Balkan Tangle by M. E. (Mary Edith) Durham
There I refuged myself till the night came, beat upon by the waves till the breath was well-nigh battered out of my body.
From With Drake on the Spanish Main by Herbert Strang
Exults on hearing, from his man Will., that the lady has refuged herself at Hampstead.
From Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady — Volume 5 by Samuel Richardson
Still, at the very bottom of her heart lay two thoughts in which her hope refuged itself.
From The Wide, Wide World by Susan Warner
The long snug harbour of Mahon, which was in the days of canvas wings almost always filled with craft refuging, is now in this era of steam usually tenantless.
From The Recipe for Diamonds by Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne
Debarred the healthier paths of life, man rushes for employment to the refuging muse; and rightly so, for he finds an employment ornamental and useful still.
From Fables of John Gay (Somewhat Altered) by John Gay
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
