sanctuary
n. C / Un. a safe place where you are protected from danger or trouble. It can also be a special area where animals are kept safe from hunters.
n. a place of refuge or safety from pursuit, persecution, or other danger. Often used to describe a nature reserve where animals are protected in their natural habitat.
The quiet library was a sanctuary for the tired students.
After a long day in the noisy city, she found sanctuary in the small park behind her apartment.
The government established a coastal sanctuary to protect the endangered sea turtles from the increasing threats of industrial fishing and habitat destruction.
From Middle English seyntuarie, from Old French saintuaire, from Late Latin sanctuarium (“a sacred place, a shrine, a private cabinet, in Medieval Latin also temple, church, churchyard, cemetery, right of asylum”), from Latin sanctus (“holy, sacred”); see saint.
Uncountable when referring to the abstract concept of protection; countable when referring to a specific physical location or building.