Definition of "sanctuary" []

• A sacred place, such as a church, temple, or mosque. (noun)
• The holiest part of a sacred place, as the part of a Christian church around the altar. (noun)
• A sacred place, such as a church, in which fugitives formerly were immune to arrest. (noun)
• Immunity to arrest afforded by a sanctuary. (noun)
• A place of refuge or asylum. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And for that matter, a stronger link could be forged between a mage's physical body and this sanctuary and stretched as tightly as a harp string Even if the moment of death were instantaneous, making it impossible for Ma'ar to do what Falconsbane had done and make the conscious flight along the link into the sanctuary~ the release of the tension at the end linked to the living physical body would literally snap the spirit into its sanctuary~ whether or not the mage himself was even aware of what was happening to him."
• "The entrance to the Altavista sanctuary is about 25 minutes walk down the track, on either side of which are plantations of guanabana (soursop) and other fruit trees."
• "One thing we learned in 'Nam: You leave the enemy a place to retreat and get organized, what they call a sanctuary, and you cannot beat him."