refuges

Noun

refuge (countable and uncountable, plural refuges)

1. A state of safety, protection or shelter.
   • Rocks, dens, and caves! But I in none of these / Find place or refuge.1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
2. A place providing safety, protection or shelter.
   • 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.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC
3. Something or someone turned to for safety or assistance; a recourse or resort.
   • 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.2011 December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian
4. An expedient to secure protection or defence.
   • Their latest refuge / Was to send him.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
5. A refuge island.
6. A kind of daily prayer or recitation.

See all 8 meanings of refuge