First Known Use: 13th century
Dictionary
1sacrifice
noun sac·ri·fice \ˈsa-krə-ˌfīs, also -fəs or -ˌfīz\
: the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone
: an act of killing a person or animal in a religious ceremony as an offering to please a god
: a person or animal that is killed in a sacrifice
Full Definition of SACRIFICE
1
: an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially : the killing of a victim on an altar
2
: something offered in sacrifice
3
a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else b : something given up or lost <the sacrifices made by parents>
4
: loss <goods sold at a sacrifice>
5
See sacrifice defined for English-language learners
See sacrifice defined for kids
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Origin of SACRIFICE
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin sacrificium, from sacr-, sacer + facere to make — more at do
Related to SACRIFICE
- Synonyms
- immolation, offering, victim
Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms
Rhymes with SACRIFICE
2sacrifice
verb
: to give up (something that you want to keep) especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone
: to kill (a person or animal) in a religious ceremony as an offering to please a god
baseball : to make a sacrifice bunt
sacrificedsacrific·ing
Full Definition of SACRIFICE
transitive verb
1
: to offer as a sacrifice
2
: to suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy especially for an ideal, belief, or end
3
: to sell at a loss
4
: to advance (a base runner) by means of a sacrifice hit
5
: to kill (an animal) as part of a scientific experiment
intransitive verb
1
: to make or perform the rites of a sacrifice
2
: to make a sacrifice hit in baseball
— sac·ri·fic·er noun
See sacrifice defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of SACRIFICE
14th century
SACRIFICE Defined for Kids
1sacrifice
noun sac·ri·fice \ˈsa-krə-ˌfīs\
Definition of SACRIFICE for Kids
1
: the act or ceremony of making an offering to God or a god especially on an altar
2
: something offered as a religious act
3
: an act of giving up something especially for the sake of someone or something else <We were happy to make a sacrifice of our time to help a friend in need.>
4
: something given up especially for the sake of helping others
Word Root of SACRIFICE
The Latin word sacer, meaning “holy,” and the related word sānctus, also meaning “holy,” give us the roots sacr and sanct. Words from the Latin sacer or sānctus have something to do with holiness. A sanctuary is a holy place. Anything sacred is holy. To sacrifice is to dedicate as a holy offering to a god.
2sacrifice
verb
sac·ri·ficedsac·ri·fic·ing
Definition of SACRIFICE for Kids
1
: to offer or kill as a religious act <The ancient ritual involved sacrificing an animal.>
2
: to give up (something) especially for the sake of something or someone else <They sacrificed their lives for their country.>
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