What does "sanctuary" mean?

1. (a safe place) a place where you feel safe and protected from trouble or danger. 2. (nature reserve) an area of land where animals and plants are protected from people. 3. (protection or asylum) the state of being protected from danger or the law. 4. (sacred area of a church) the most holy part of a religious building, usually near the altar.

sanctuary

US //ˈsæŋktʃuˌɛɹi// UK //sˈɑːnktjuːəɹˌi// sanc·tu·ary

1 a safe place (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a place where you feel safe and protected from trouble or danger.

a place of refuge or safety from pursuit, persecution, or external danger.

Example

After a long day at the office, her garden was a quiet sanctuary where she could relax.

Example

The embassy provided a temporary sanctuary for the political dissidents until safe passage out of the country could be negotiated.
- danger
- threat
2 nature reserve (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Science

an area of land where animals and plants are protected from people.

a reserved area of land where wildlife is protected from hunting or habitat destruction.

Example

The island is a bird sanctuary where thousands of rare species come to nest.

Example

Environmentalists lobbied the government to designate the coastal wetlands as a marine sanctuary to prevent further industrial development.

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3 protection or asylum (n.)
C1 Advanced Formal Law

the state of being protected from danger or the law.

the condition of being protected or the immunity from arrest afforded by a sacred place.

Example

In the past, people could find sanctuary from the law by entering a church.

Example

The fugitive sought sanctuary within the cathedral walls, invoking an ancient custom that prevented local authorities from making an arrest on holy ground.
4 sacred area of a church (n.)
C1 Advanced Formal Religion

the most holy part of a religious building, usually near the altar.

the most sacred part of a religious building, such as the area around the altar in a Christian church.

Example

Only the priests were allowed to enter the inner sanctuary during the ceremony.

Example

The restoration project focused on the intricate gold leafing and marble work within the church's sanctuary, which had been damaged by smoke over the centuries.

Origin

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.