safe house

American  

noun

safe houses plural

1. a dwelling or building whose conventional appearance makes it a safe or inconspicuous place for hiding, taking refuge, or carrying on clandestine activities.

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safe house British  

noun

1. a place used secretly by undercover agents, terrorists, etc, as a meeting place or refuge

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• safe houses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of safe house

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

safe house

Authorities worried that the departure of the player would reveal the location of the remaining six, so they moved them to a new safe house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

The government had spent days in secret talks with the players, who were whisked to a safe house after leaving their hotel on the Gold Coast.

From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026

Police assisted the women in leaving their hotel and placed them in a safe house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026

The interview was co-ordinated by the SBU and conducted at a derelict building in Zaporizhzhia being used as a kind of safe house by the service, which confirmed the basic facts of Kurashov's life.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2025

A combination saloon, inn, and post office—not unlike Surratt’s tavern—it was known among Confederate sympathizers as a reliable safe house and place to exchange information.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson