sanctum

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

sanc·tum

(săngk′təm)

n. pl. sanc·tums or sanc·ta (-tə)

1. A sacred or holy place.

2. A private place where one is free from intrusion.

[Late Latin sānctum, from Latin, neuter of sānctus, sacred; see sanctify.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sanctum

(ˈsæŋktəm)

n, pl -tums or -ta (-tə)

1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a sacred or holy place

2. a room or place of total privacy or inviolability

[C16: from Latin, from sanctus holy]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sanc•tum

(ˈsæŋk təm)

n., pl. -tums, -ta (-tə).

1. a sacred or holy place.

2. an inviolably private place or retreat.

3. a sanctified custom, rite, etc.

[1570–80; n. use of neuter of Latin sānctus; see Sanctus]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	sanctum - a place of inviolable privacy; "he withdrew to his sanctum sanctorum, where the children could never go" sanctum sanctorum retreat - a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet
	2.	sanctum - a sacred place of pilgrimage holy, holy place place, spot, topographic point - a point located with respect to surface features of some region; "this is a nice place for a picnic"; "a bright spot on a planet"

sanctum

noun

1. refuge, retreat, den, hideaway, private room, hide-out His bedroom is his inner sanctum.

2. sanctuary, shrine, altar, holy place, Holy of Holies the inner sanctum of the mosque

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

sanctum

noun

A sacred or holy place:

sacrarium, sanctorium, sanctuary, shrine.

Translations

Heiligtum

sacrario sancta sanctorum stanza privata

sanctum

[ˈsæŋktəm] N (sanctums or sancta (pl)) → lugar m sagrado (fig) → sanctasanctórum m
see also inner A1

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

sanctum

(= holy place) → heiliger Ort

(fig: = private place) → Allerheiligste(s) nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in classic literature ?

That is the time, after your Departure is taken, when the spirit of your commander communes with you in a muffled voice, as if from the sanctum sanctorum of a temple; because, call her a temple or a "hell afloat" - as some ships have been called - the captain's state-room is surely the august place in every vessel.

View in context

Now, had Tashtego perished in that head, it had been a very precious perishing; smothered in the very whitest and daintiest of fragrant spermaceti; coffined, hearsed, and tombed in the secret inner chamber and sanctum sanctorum of the whale.

View in context

My first pretext for invading the sanctum was to bring Arthur a little waddling puppy of which Sancho was the father, and which delighted the child beyond expression, and, consequently, could not fail to please his mamma.

View in context

To enter the little Cafe in the cul-de-sac Le Febvre was, at the period of our tale, to enter the sanctum of a man of genius.

View in context

"With much pleasure, sir," Da Souza answered, throwing open with a little flourish the door of his sanctum. "Will you step in?

View in context

He walked through, looking neither to the right nor the left, crossed the great library, with its curved roof, its floor of cedar wood, and its wonderful stained-glass windows, and entered a smaller room beyond--his absolute and impenetrable sanctum. He rang the bell for his servant.

View in context

Returning, the boy beckoned him from halfway across the room and led him to the private office, the editorial sanctum. Martin's first impression was of the disorder and cluttered confusion of the room.

View in context

Reuter turned her eye laterally on me, to ascertain, probably, whether I was collected enough to be ushered into her sanctum sanctorum.

View in context

Sometimes we saw him passing in lonely majesty to his inner sanctum, with his eyes staring vaguely and his mind hovering over the Balkans or the Persian Gulf.

View in context

Framed upon the wall of my sanctum I retain those magnificent headlines:--

View in context

The dry-room, this pantheon, this sanctum sanctorum of the tulip-fancier, was, as Delphi of old, interdicted to the profane uninitiated.

View in context

Pray step into my little sanctum. A small place, miss, but furnished to my own liking.