rescue mission

noun

plural rescue missions

1

: a city religious mission (see mission entry 1 sense 4a) providing social and spiritual assistance to the poor and needy

The nonprofit, Christian-based rescue mission has provided a variety of social services to the poor and homeless over its 55-year history.

—Janet Lavelle

also : the premises of a rescue mission

I used to go quite often to Charleston, West Virginia to speak in the old rescue mission …

—Lee Roberson

2

: an undertaking to rescue someone or something from a dangerous or difficult situation

They kept him alive that way for more than twenty-four hours, waiting for a helicopter rescue mission that came too late.

—Jamie James

After a 12-hour rescue mission, navy personnel were able to tow the animal safely to land.

—Brigit Katz

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The wreckage wasn’t spotted for three hours, triggering the rescue mission. —Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Apr. 2023

Pat Craig, The Wild Animal Sanctuary’s executive director, highlighted the complexity of the feline rescue mission. —Zoe Sottile, CNN, 15 Oct. 2022

Following the rescue mission, Robertson hopes more people across the country will be aware of this type of animal mistreatment and fight to change it. —Katie Mogg, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2022

And such a scenario assumes everything goes perfectly: sending help to a troubled crew on or around Mars would require dozens of additional fuel launches, and chemical propulsion allows very limited windows of opportunity for the liftoff of any rescue mission. —David W. Brown, Scientific American, 27 Jan. 2022

Although the fire caused more than $300,000 in damage, the rescue mission was a success: All the dogs got out and none of the employees were injured. —Cathy Free, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2023

At that point, a second rescue mission was in order: creating a little Christmas magic. —Shealagh Sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Dec. 2022

The rescue mission is also seeking donations. —Scott Turner | [e-mail], al, 23 Dec. 2022

But the rescue mission hit a speed bump when Daryl was knocked out and given a black eye — a plot twist that was incorporated after Reedus suffered his own serious concussion and black eye on set. —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 21 Nov. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined at sense 1