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

Examples of rescue mission in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The final stretch of Elio sends its young protagonist on a rescue mission to save Glordon and the Communiverse from the respective clutches of military researchers and Grigon's army — on opposite sides of the universe. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 20 June 2025

About 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive, however, contact with Titan was lost, sparking a multi-day search and rescue mission that culminated in the discovery of debris scattered about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 19 June 2025

Justin Brooks, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard Sector San Diego, said in a statement. —Karen Kucher, Mercury News, 11 June 2025

The subsequent two movies in the trilogy follow Claire and Owen on various rescue missions to save dinosaurs from extinction once more after the collapse of the theme park. —Tommy McArdle, People.com, 11 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for rescue mission

• abolition
• acquisition
• admonition
• ammunition
• apparition
• apposition
• coalition
• competition
• composition
• definition
• deglutition
• demolition