sacrifice

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

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

Craport then delivered a sacrifice fly to score Moesquit.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "IronBirds slip in Vermont in first-of-three on road," 26 Aug. 2017
And as little an overall impact this spare dragon has, the sacrifice of an undead barely-there character like uncle Benjen has even less.

— joanna robinson, vanityfair.com, "Game of Thrones," 21 Aug. 2017
Be willing to make sacrifices and insist on taking a stand for what is right.

— lauren duca, Teen Vogue, "How "Nice White People" Benefit from Charlottesville and White Supremacy," 14 Aug. 2017
In the third, Adam Duvall doubled and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly.

— zach buchanan, Cincinnati.com, "Reds Recap: Offense breaks out to beat Pirates," 1 Aug. 2017
His sacrifice fly in the ninth inning provided the winning margin in a 4-3 victory.

— max londberg, kansascity, "Morning Rush: FBI seizes records of Overland Park doc; Royals win; KC icon’s new home," 20 July 2017
With runners on second and third and one out, Yuli Gurriel hit a fly ball that appeared to score Jose Altuve from third on sacrifice.

— ryan divish, The Seattle Times, "Mariners’ streak snapped at five in 6-2 loss to Houston," 18 July 2017
The Ironborn are thus not afraid of drowning and consider drowning their enemies to be a good method of sacrifice to the Drowned God.

— eliza thompson, Cosmopolitan, "A Guide to the Many Religions on Game of Thrones," 13 July 2017
Many people would rather not make that sacrifice, even for the prospect of large material rewards.

— The Economist, "If borders were openA world of free movement would be $78 trillion richer," 13 July 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, oblation, 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

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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

With all due respect to Thoros of Myr (R.I.P.), the least well-known out of seven characters was sacrificed.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Game of Thrones Really Needs to Start Killing off Its Heroes Again," 21 Aug. 2017
Mr. Anton, a graduate of Claremont Graduate University, has written extensively on what Mr. Trump offers conservatives, most provocatively under the pseudonym Publius Decius Mus, a Roman who sacrificed himself for the republic.

— jeremy w. peters, New York Times, "They’re Building a Trump-Centric Movement. But Don’t Call It Trumpism.," 5 Aug. 2017
So, will the Mother of Dragons have to sacrifice someone close to her to fulfill the prophecy and save her people?

— chanel vargas, Cosmopolitan, "The Game of Thrones Fan Theory Predicts a Major Prophecy Is About to Come True," 3 Aug. 2017
The team sacrificed some of the bees and isolated the genes active in the insects’ mushroom bodies, a part of the brain responsible for complex actions such as social behavior.

— elizabeth pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Antisocial bees share genetic profile with people with autism," 31 July 2017
But the new boss must change Uber from a company that sacrifices anything for its ambitions, to one which has a realistic valuation and uses resources efficiently.

— The Economist, "SchumpeterAn action plan for Uber’s next chief executive," 20 July 2017
No need to sacrifice your favorite lip gloss just to make space.

— sophie hirsh, Teen Vogue, "New Glamspin Combines Fidget Spinner and Lip Gloss," 26 June 2017
On Thursday, Wu said Alibaba will continue to sacrifice a small slice of profitability to help bankroll its forays.

— lulu yilun chen, Bloomberg.com, "Alibaba Adds $42 Billion in Market Cap on Strong Sales Forecast," 8 June 2017
The ceremonial ball game frequently ended with players being sacrificed.

— Washington Post, "Mexico protects ancient temple while hotel is built above," 7 June 2017

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

play

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

play

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.