refugee Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an exile who flees for safety

WordNet

Ref`u*gee" noun
Etymology
F. réfugié, fr. se réfugier to take refuge. See Refuge, n.
Definitions
  1. One who flees to a shelter, or place of safety.
  2. Especially, one who, in times of persecution or political commotion, flees to a foreign power or country for safety; as, the French refugees who left France after the revocation of the edict of Nantes.

Webster 1913