Refuge word meaning and definition

[noun] act of turning to for assistance; "have recourse to the courts"; "an appeal to his uncle was his last resort"
[noun] a shelter from danger or hardship
[noun] something or someone turned to for assistance or security; "his only recourse was the police"; "took refuge in lying"
[noun] a safe place; "He ran to safety"

\Ref"uge\ (r?f"?j), n. [F. r['e]fuge, L. refugium, fr. refugere to flee back; pref. re- + figere. SEe {Fugitive}.] 1. Shelter or protection from danger or distress. Rocks, dens, and caves! But I in none of these Find place or refuge. --Milton. We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. --Heb. vi. 18. 2. That which shelters or protects from danger, or from distress or calamity; a stronghold which protects by its strength, or a sanctuary which secures safety by its sacredness; a place inaccessible to an enemy. The high hills are a refuger the wild goats. --Ps. civ. 18. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed. --Ps. ix. 9. 3. An expedient to secure protection or defense; a device or contrivance. Their latest refuge Was to send him. --Shak. Light must be supplied, among gracefulrefuges, by terracing ??? story in danger of darkness. --Sir H. Wotton. {Cities of refuge} (Jewish Antiq.), certain cities appointed as places of safe refuge for persons who had committed homicide without design. Of these there were three on each side of Jordan. --Josh. xx. {House of refuge}, a charitable institution for giving shelter and protection to the homeless, destitute, or tempted. Syn: Shelter; asylum; retreat; covert.
\Ref"uge\ (r?f"?j), v. t. To shelter; to protect. [Obs.]

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