sanctum sanctorum

American  

[sangk-tawr-uhm, -tohr-] / sæŋkˈtɔr əm, -ˈtoʊr- /

noun

1. the holy of holies of the Biblical tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem.

2. sanctum.

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sanctum sanctorum British  

/ sæŋkˈtɔːrəm /

noun

1. Bible another term for the holy of holies

2. facetious an especially private place

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sanctum sanctorum Cultural  

1. Latin for “holy of holies.” The place in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (see also Jerusalem) where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. By extension, a sacred and private place.

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Etymology

Origin of sanctum sanctorum

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sānctum sānctōrum, translation of Hebrew qōdhesh haqqodhāshīm holy of holies

Example Sentences

The current controversy centres around two idols of Dwarapalakas - or the door guards that stand just outside the sanctum sanctorum where the main deity sits.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

The first mob attack took place on Saturday when an unidentified man stepped inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2021

It's on the second floor of the clubhouse--truly a sanctum sanctorum.

From Golf Digest • Apr. 9, 2020

It remained the standard until its name was sold by the family, in the nineteen-twenties, and its lingering reputation was eventually surpassed by the sanctum sanctorum of Henri Soulé’s Le Pavillon, another of Freedman’s ten.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 12, 2016

She approaches the double doors and pushes her way into the sanctum sanctorum.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides