safe house

American

noun

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

safe house British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

safe houses

plural

Etymology

Origin of safe house

First recorded in 1960–65

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:

safe house

The flat in Dublin where he was found was identified as a Kinahan safe house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

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

“He’s got no way of knowing which safe house you’re in.”

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023