sacrifice

noun sac·ri·fice \ ˈsa-krə-ˌfīs also -fəs or -ˌfīz \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

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 : sacrifice hit

See sacrifice defined for English-language learners

See sacrifice defined for kids

Examples of sacrifice in a Sentence

The war required everyone to make sacrifices.
No sacrifice is too great when it comes to her children.
He made many personal sacrifices to provide help to the city's homeless people.
The war required much sacrifice from everyone.
a place where priests performed human sacrifices in ancient rituals
The villagers hoped the gods would accept their sacrifice.
The goat was offered as a sacrifice.
The runner went to second base on a sacrifice.

Recent Examples of sacrifice from the Web

The dog sacrifices The most obvious sign of ritual activity at Krasnosamarskoe was a pit full of bones from about 50 different dogs.

— annalee newitz, Ars Technica, "Archaeologists find mysterious, 4,000-year-old dog sacrifices in Russia," 19 Nov. 2017
One of the most underappreciated aspects of sports is the selfless sacrifice of glory for one’s self in order to further the success of the team.

— andrew turner, Daily Pilot, "Daily Pilot High School Female Athlete of the Week: Selfless Faller driving Fountain Valley’s cross-country success," 3 Nov. 2017
To honor and thank veterans and military personnel for their sacrifice and service, multiple businesses around North Texas will be offering special promotions on Veterans Day (Nov. 11).

— courtney ortega, star-telegram, "Free meals and deals for vets and military members on Veterans Day," 2 Nov. 2017
Given the great sacrifices made by ordinary people for the cause, the search for some way to honor them is not at all surprising, and does not require one to assume a vast conspiracy to justify Jim Crow.

— dan mclaughlin, National Review, "Flag Protests and the Power of Symbols," 11 Oct. 2017
His banjo playing is almost jaunty, but there’s a spiritual component to the chords—a weighty minor here and there—that speaks of the sacrifices optimism demands.

— tom maxwell, Longreads, "A History of American Protest Music: ‘We Have Got Tools and We Are Going to Succeed’," 5 Oct. 2017
Among those making the biggest sacrifice was Crusan, who became a first-round NFL draft pick of the Miami Dolphins at offensive tackle.

— david woods, Indianapolis Star, "50 years ago, IU football made the Rose Bowl — no, really," 26 Oct. 2017
Lozano raised four boys but made special sacrifices for her oldest.

— jesse acuna, Houston Chronicle, "Dynamo’s Memo Rodriguez emerges as homegrown talent without another would-be star: His best friend," 25 Oct. 2017
Catalans’ willingness to make sacrifices in defense of their values also decreased.

— nafees hamid, The Atlantic, "How Spain Misunderstood the Catalan Independence Movement," 1 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sacrifice.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sacrifice

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin sacrificium, from sacr-, sacer + facere to make — more at do

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

sacrifice Synonyms

Synonyms

immolation, offering, victim;

Related Words

libation, propitiation;

holocaust;

contribution, donation;

Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms

Zen, antinomian, avatar, gnosticism, illuminati, ineffable, karma, koan, mantra

sacrifice

verb

Definition of sacrifice

sacrificed; sacrificing

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

—

sacrificer

noun

See sacrifice defined for English-language learners

Examples of sacrifice in a Sentence

She's had to sacrifice a lot for her family.
He sacrificed his personal life in order to get ahead in his career.
I want to follow a diet that is healthful without sacrificing taste.
She was able to ask for their help without sacrificing her dignity.
She was willing to suffer, sacrifice, and work for success.
a place where people were sacrificed in ancient rituals
He sacrificed in his first at bat.

Recent Examples of sacrifice from the Web

The passing, the willingness to sacrifice his own point totals to set up teammates off a double team, sets James apart as much as his size, speed, and strength.

— bill livingston, cleveland.com, "LeBron James and the NBA's greatest passing fancies -- Bill Livingston (photos)," 2 Apr. 2018
The Washington DC Federation of Churches asked people to sacrifice meals at Easter time.

— william lambers, star-telegram, "A 'Greatest Generation' Easter sparked charity | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 29 Mar. 2018
Proof positive that there's no need to sacrifice sensuality in the third trimester—and beyond!

— calin van paris, Vogue, "Miranda Kerr Turns a Baby Bump and Bombshell Legs Into the Ultimate Trimester Win," 26 Mar. 2018
South Korean officials have asserted that Kim is prepared to sacrifice a nuclear weapons program four decades in the making that is widely regarded as vital to the security of the Kim regime and to its fantasies of conquering South Korea.

— chicagotribune.com, "3 Steps Trump Should Take Before Meeting Kim Jong Un," 23 Mar. 2018
In a clever callback to the original, Boyega's Jake is the son of the character played by Idris Elba, who sacrificed himself a decade earlier in the battle to defeat the Kaiju, the enormous beasts that entered our world bent on destruction.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'Pacific Rim Uprising' sizes up pretty mechanical sequel," 21 Mar. 2018
That would have been hard to explain anyway for Elba, whose character, Stacker Pentecost, sacrificed himself and his awesome name to save the world in the first film.

— bill goodykoontz, azcentral, "'Pacific Rim Uprising' is supposed to be epic. Is it? Well...," 21 Mar. 2018
Her main job involved covering the best players on the opposing teams, causing her to sacrifice her own scoring.

— bob narang, Lake County News-Sun, "Announcing the 2017-18 News-Sun Girls Basketball All-Area Team," 20 Mar. 2018
But imagine the opposite scenario: The car is programmed to sacrifice the driver and the occupants to preserve the lives of bystanders.

— meredith broussard, The Atlantic, "Self-Driving Cars Still Don't Know How to See," 20 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of sacrifice

14th century

sacrifice Synonyms

Synonyms

immolate, offer;

Related Words

consecrate, dedicate, devote;

give, hand over, surrender, yield;

SACRIFICE Defined for English Language Learners

sacrifice

noun

Definition of sacrifice for English Language Learners

: 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

sacrifice

verb

Definition of sacrifice for English Language Learners

: 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

SACRIFICE Defined for Kids

sacrifice

noun sac·ri·fice \ ˈsa-krə-ˌfīs \

Definition of sacrifice for Students

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.

sacrifice

verb

Definition of sacrifice for Students

sacrificed; sacrificing

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.

Learn More about sacrifice

See words that rhyme with sacrifice Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sacrifice Spanish Central: Translation of sacrifice Nglish: Translation of sacrifice for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sacrifice for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sacrifice

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sacrifice

Definition of sacrifice

Examples of sacrifice in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sacrifice from the Web

Origin and Etymology of sacrifice

sacrifice Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms

sacrifice

Definition of sacrifice

sacrificer

Examples of sacrifice in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sacrifice from the Web

First Known Use of sacrifice

sacrifice Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Phrases Related to SACRIFICE

Related Phrases

SACRIFICE Defined for English Language Learners

sacrifice

Definition of sacrifice for English Language Learners

sacrifice

Definition of sacrifice for English Language Learners

SACRIFICE Defined for Kids

sacrifice

Definition of sacrifice for Students

Word Root of sacrifice

sacrifice

Definition of sacrifice for Students

Learn More about sacrifice

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