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

Police identified the officers involved in the rescue mission as Morgan Tracy and Charles Lee. —Jennifer Hassan, Washington Post, 19 June 2024

Later that evening, the submersible was reported missing by the support ship Polar Prince, kicking off a search and rescue mission. —Marina Watts, Peoplemag, 18 June 2024

There was so much that could have gone wrong in this rescue mission. —ABC News, 9 June 2024

The rescue mission has underlined the complexity of freeing prisoners held either underground or among civilians, highlighting for many the urgent necessity of a deal to get back the remaining 120 hostages, many of whom are deemed to be already dead. —Shoshanna Solomon, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined at sense 1