sanctum
noun
sanc·tum
ˈsaŋ(k)-təm 
plural sanctums also sancta
ˈsaŋ(k)-tə
1
: a sacred place
2
: a place where one is free from intrusion
an editor's sanctum
the inner sanctums of research
Examples of sanctum in a Sentence
Her office was her sanctum.
the sanctum of a church
Recent Examples on the Web
Entrance to this particular sanctum, christened Map & Flag in a nod to the Masters’s storied logo, runs $17,000 per person for the week of golf’s first major tournament.
—
Kevin Draper Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Stepping outside the sanctum of the dining room is like being released from a spell.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2023
Party-to-Go keeps the huge catalogue of licensed songs and even adds a story mode — a first for the series — which is perfectly tuned to the private sanctum of mobile gaming.
—Vulture, 2 Oct. 2023
In 1947 Rome’s superintendent of antiquities, Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli, made his way into the sanctum by dressing as a janitor.
—Ingrid D. Rowland, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021
Feminism may not be the only appropriate topic of conversation, or the answer to every question, but it must nonetheless be imported into even the most intimate sanctums.
—Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 25 May 2023
You’re inspected for purity on the way into the sanctum and instructed in a series of obscure rights and responsibilities that attend to touching this very special paper.
—Elise Hannum, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2022
The intruders ran around the back hallways of the second floor, weaving in and out of the Senate majority leader and House speaker’s adjoining suites, and entering the sanctum of the two most powerful figures in Congress like the halls were their playground.
—Anchorage Daily News, 10 Jan. 2021
The library itself was an unfathomable sanctum they were barred from, not by rule but by indifference.
—Cynthia Ozick, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
Kevin Draper Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Stepping outside the sanctum of the dining room is like being released from a spell.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2023
Party-to-Go keeps the huge catalogue of licensed songs and even adds a story mode — a first for the series — which is perfectly tuned to the private sanctum of mobile gaming.
—Vulture, 2 Oct. 2023
In 1947 Rome’s superintendent of antiquities, Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli, made his way into the sanctum by dressing as a janitor.
—Ingrid D. Rowland, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021
Feminism may not be the only appropriate topic of conversation, or the answer to every question, but it must nonetheless be imported into even the most intimate sanctums.
—Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 25 May 2023
You’re inspected for purity on the way into the sanctum and instructed in a series of obscure rights and responsibilities that attend to touching this very special paper.
—Elise Hannum, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2022
The intruders ran around the back hallways of the second floor, weaving in and out of the Senate majority leader and House speaker’s adjoining suites, and entering the sanctum of the two most powerful figures in Congress like the halls were their playground.
—Anchorage Daily News, 10 Jan. 2021
The library itself was an unfathomable sanctum they were barred from, not by rule but by indifference.
—Cynthia Ozick, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sanctum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sanctum
Cite this Entry
“Sanctum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanctum. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sanctum
noun
sanc·tum
ˈsaŋ(k)-təm
plural sanctums also sancta
-tə
1
: a sacred place
2
: a place where one is free from being bothered
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