Refuge

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɹɛfjuːdÊ’/

Origin

From Old French refuge.

Full definition of refuge

Noun

1. A state of safety, protection or shelter.
• MiltonRocks, dens, and caves! But I in none of these
  Find place or refuge.
2. A place providing safety, protection or shelter.
• 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 4, One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.
3. Something or someone turned to for safety or assistance; a recourse or resort.
• 2011, December 21, Helen Pidd, Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis, Since its conception, the European Union has been a haven for those seeking refuge from war, persecution and poverty in other parts of the world.
4. An expedient to secure protection or defence.
• ShakespeareTheir latest refuge
  Was to send him.

Synonyms

• haven
• sanctuary
• zoar

Derived terms

• refugee
• refugium

Verb

1. (intransitive) To return to a place of shelter.
• 2011, Michael D. Gumert, ‎Agustín Fuentes, ‎Lisa Jones-Engel, Monkeys on the EdgeAmong these macaques, although activity cycles are quite variable from location to location, refuging is a common characteristic.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To shelter; to protect.----