sacrifice
sacrifices; sacrificed; sacrificing
A sacrifice is a loss or something you give up, usually for the sake of a better cause. Parents sacrifice time and sleep to take care of their children, while kids might sacrifice TV time to hang out with mom and dad.
Though no longer used only in a religious context, sacrifice comes from the Latin sacra and facere, meaning "to perform sacred rites." If you've studied ancient cultures like the Incas, you've probably heard of "human sacrifice," where a person is killed in a sacred ceremony to please the gods. But thankfully those kinds of sacrifices don't happen anymore.
Definitions of sacrifice
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the act of killing (an animal or person) in order to propitiate a deity
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synonyms:
ritual killing
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types:
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hecatomb
a great sacrifice; an ancient Greek or Roman sacrifice of 100 oxen
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immolation
killing or offering as a sacrifice
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type of:
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kill, killing, putting to death
the act of terminating a life
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hecatomb
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personnel that are sacrificed (e.g., surrendered or lost in order to gain an objective)
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type of:
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loss, personnel casualty
military personnel lost by death or capture
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loss, personnel casualty
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the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.
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synonyms:
forfeit, forfeiture
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type of:
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act, deed, human action, human activity
something that people do or cause to happen
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act, deed, human action, human activity
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a loss entailed by giving up or selling something at less than its value“he had to sell his car at a considerable sacrifice”
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type of:
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loss
something that is lost
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loss
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make a sacrifice of; in religious rituals
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kill or destroy“The animals were sacrificed after the experiment”“The general had to sacrifice several soldiers to save the regiment”
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type of:
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kill
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
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kill
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endure the loss of
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sell at a loss
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type of:
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sell
exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
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sell
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(baseball) an out that advances the base runners
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types:
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sacrifice fly
a sacrifice made by hitting a long fly ball
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type of:
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putout
an out resulting from a fielding play (not a strikeout)
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sacrifice fly
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘sacrifice'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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