From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsanctuarysanc‧tu‧a‧ry /ˈsæŋktʃuəri, -tʃəri $ -tʃueri/ ●○○ noun (plural sanctuaries) 1 [countable]HBADLO an area for birds or animals where they are protected and cannot be hunted SYN refugebird/wildlife etc sanctuary The park is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the US.sanctuary for a sanctuary for tigers2 [countable, uncountable]SAFE a peaceful place that is safe and provides protection, especially for people who are in danger SYN refugefind/seek sanctuary Fleeing refugees found sanctuary in Geneva.sanctuary for a sanctuary for battered women3 [countable]RRTBB the part of a religious building that is considered to be the most holy4 [countable] American EnglishTB the room in a religious building where religious services take place5 [uncountable]RRC the right that people had under Christian law, especially in the past, to be protected from police, soldiers etc by staying in a church
Examples from the Corpus
sanctuary• I thought of my bedroom as a sanctuary.• The Church should be a sanctuary for the oppressed.• So school becomes a sanctuary, a haven of stability, hot food and teachers who care.• The center is a sanctuary for battered women.• After 20 calls to animal sanctuaries a person who would foster Holly was found, so that the woman could have her operation.• Even if she left the dubious sanctuary of the car she had no clue to the best direction in which to seek help.• It is a society with few sanctuaries when protectors turn upon you.• But the mountains are more than sanctuaries.• Behind them all walked Bishop Corrada, who sat in the sanctuary, solemn and stone-faced, throughout the liturgy.• My insight into this came at the Ranthambhor tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan.bird/wildlife etc sanctuary• It is used by fishermen and is designated a bird sanctuary.• Perhaps the only way of getting a picture would be to take one in a bird sanctuary.• Today, the site at Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands is a bird sanctuary.• Read in studio A wildlife sanctuary has appointed it's first resident artist.• A wildlife sanctuary is releasing eight of the animals into a special protected set.• A number of bird sanctuaries were seriously affected by the spill.• At the wildlife sanctuary in Caerlaverock you can see natterjack toads, and in winter flocks of geese arrive.• Nearby is the Heritage Museum of local history and the Wildfowl Trust bird sanctuary.find/seek sanctuary• But word also had it that he was up in Abra, seeking sanctuary from the government at a church.• How did she know that she could find sanctuary in the familiar and the ordinary?• He had instructed Simon to wait, and had sought sanctuary in the corner of the Chamber.• Hundreds of civilians have sought sanctuary at churches and embassies.• After a few hundred yards, he sought sanctuary in a nearby house.• Where monks sat in quiet contemplation, guests now seek sanctuary from the city's bustle amid lush palms and ivy.• She found sanctuary in this remote place where she stayed alone for fifteen years.• They fled with their father by ship to Argos, where they found sanctuary.• Like you, I intend to seek sanctuary with Resenence Jeopardy.Origin sanctuary (1300-1400) Old French sainctuarie, from Late Latin sanctuarium, from Latin sanctus; → SAINT 