Definitions for sacrifice
ˈsæk rəˌfaɪssac·ri·fice

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. forfeit, forfeiture, sacrificenoun

   the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.

2. sacrificenoun

   personnel that are sacrificed (e.g., surrendered or lost in order to gain an objective)

3. sacrificenoun

   a loss entailed by giving up or selling something at less than its value

   "he had to sell his car at a considerable sacrifice"

4. sacrifice, ritual killingnoun

   the act of killing (an animal or person) in order to propitiate a deity

5. sacrificeverb

   (baseball) an out that advances the base runners

6. sacrifice, giveverb

   endure the loss of

   "He gave his life for his children"; "I gave two sons to the war"

7. sacrificeverb

   kill or destroy

   "The animals were sacrificed after the experiment"; "The general had to sacrifice several soldiers to save the regiment"

8. sacrificeverb

   sell at a loss

9. sacrificeverb

   make a sacrifice of; in religious rituals

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. sacrificenoun

   Something sacrificed.

2. sacrificenoun

   A play in which the batter is intentionally out in order that runners can advance around the bases.

3. sacrificeverb

   To offer (something) as a gift to a deity.

4. sacrificeverb

   To give away (something valuable) to get at least a possibility to gain something else of value (such as self-respect, trust, love, freedom, prosperity), or to avoid an even greater loss.

5. sacrificeverb

   To trade (a value of higher worth) for one of lesser worth in order to gain something else valued more such as an ally or business relationship or to avoid an even greater loss; to sell without profit to gain something other than money.

6. sacrificeverb

   To intentionally give up (a piece) in order to improve one's position on the board.

7. sacrificeverb

   To advance (a runner on base) by batting the ball so it can be caught or fielded, placing the batter out, but with insufficient time to put the runner out.

8. Etymology: From sacrificium, from sacrifico, from sacer, + facio.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Sacrificenoun

   Etymology: sacrifice, French; sacrificium, Latin.

   1. The act of offering to heaven.

   God will ordain religious rites
   Of sacrifice. John Milton.

   2. The thing offered to heaven, or immolated.

   Upon such sacrifice
   The gods themselves throw incense. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   Go with me like good angels to my end,
   And as the long divorce of steel falls on me,
   Make of your prayers one sweet sacrifice,
   And lift my soul to heav’n. William Shakespeare.

   Moloch besmear’d with blood
   Of human sacrifice. John Milton.

   My life if thou preserv’st, my life
   Thy sacrifice shall be;
   And death, if death must be my doom,
   Shall join my soul to thee. Joseph Addison, Spectator.

   3. Any thing destroyed, or quitted for the sake of something else.4. Any thing destroyed.

2. To SACRIFICEverb

   Etymology: sacrifier, French; sacrifico, Latin.

   1. To offer to heaven; to immolate.

   Alarbus’ limbs are lopt,
   And intrails feed the sacrificing fire. William Shakespeare, Titus Andron.

   This blood, like sacrificing Abel’s, cries
   To me for justice. William Shakespeare, Richard II.

   I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males. Ex. xiii. 15.

   Men from the herd or flock
   Of sacrificing bullock, lamb, or kid. John Milton.

   2. To destroy or give up for the sake of something else.

   ’Tis a sad contemplation, that we should sacrifice the peace of the church to a little vain curiosity. Decay of Piety.

   The breach of this rule, To do as one would be done to, would be contrary to that interest men sacrifice to when they break it. John Locke.

   Syphax loves you, and would sacrifice
   His life, nay more, his honour, in your service. Addison.

   A great genius sometimes sacrifices sound to sense. William Broome.

   3. To destroy; to kill.4. To devote with loss.

   Condemn’d to sacrifice his childish years
   To babbling ign’rance, and to empty fears. Matthew Prior.

3. To Sacrificeverb

   To make offerings; to offer sacrifice.

   He that sacrificeth of things wrongfully gotten, his offering is ridiculous. Ecclus. xxxiv. 18.

   Let us go to sacrifice to the Lord. Ex. iii. 18.

   Some mischief is befallen
   To that meek man who well had sacrific’d. John Milton.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Sacrifice

   Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly existed before that. Evidence of ritual human sacrifice can also be found back to at least pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica as well as in European civilizations. Varieties of ritual non-human sacrifices are practiced by numerous religions today.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Sacrificenoun

   the offering of anything to God, or to a god; consecratory rite

2. Sacrificenoun

   anything consecrated and offered to God, or to a divinity; an immolated victim, or an offering of any kind, laid upon an altar, or otherwise presented in the way of religious thanksgiving, atonement, or conciliation

3. Sacrificenoun

   destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else; devotion of some desirable object in behalf of a higher object, or to a claim deemed more pressing; hence, also, the thing so devoted or given up; as, the sacrifice of interest to pleasure, or of pleasure to interest

4. Sacrificenoun

   a sale at a price less than the cost or the actual value

5. Sacrificenoun

   to make an offering of; to consecrate or present to a divinity by way of expiation or propitiation, or as a token acknowledgment or thanksgiving; to immolate on the altar of God, in order to atone for sin, to procure favor, or to express thankfulness; as, to sacrifice an ox or a sheep

6. Sacrificenoun

   hence, to destroy, surrender, or suffer to be lost, for the sake of obtaining something; to give up in favor of a higher or more imperative object or duty; to devote, with loss or suffering

7. Sacrificenoun

   to destroy; to kill

8. Sacrificenoun

   to sell at a price less than the cost or the actual value

9. Sacrificeverb

   to make offerings to God, or to a deity, of things consumed on the altar; to offer sacrifice

10. Etymology: [OE. sacrifise, sacrifice, F. sacrifice, fr. L. sacrificium; sacer sacred + facere to make. See Sacred, and Fact.]

FreebaseRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Sacrifice

   Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals to a higher purpose, in particular divine beings, as an act of propitiation or worship. While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts. For offerings of liquids by pouring, the term libation is used.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Sacrifice

   sak′ri-fīs, v.t. to offer up, esp. on the altar of a divinity: to destroy or give up for something else: to devote or destroy with loss or suffering: to kill.—v.i. to make offerings to God.—n. the fundamental institution of all natural religions, primarily a sacramental meal at which the communicants are a deity and his worshippers, and the elements the flesh and blood of a sacred victim: the act of sacrificing or offering to a deity, esp. a victim on an altar: that which is sacrificed or offered: destruction or loss of anything to gain some object: that which is given up, destroyed, or lost for some end: mere loss of profit.—n. Sacrif′icant, one who offers a sacrifice.—adj. Sacrif′icātory, offering sacrifice.—n. Sac′rificer, a priest.—adj. Sacrifi′cial, relating to, or consisting in, sacrifice: performing sacrifice.—adv. Sacrifi′cially.—Sacrifice hit, in base-ball, a hit to enable another player to score or to gain a base.—Eucharistic sacrifice, the supposed constant renewal of the sacrifice of Christ in the mass. [O. Fr.,—L. sacrificium—sacer, sacred, facĕre, to make.]

The Nuttall EncyclopediaRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Sacrifice

   anything of value given away to secure the possession of something of still higher value, and which is the greater and more meritorious the costlier the gift.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. sacrifice

   Song lyrics by sacrifice -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by sacrifice on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Act
   • Kill
   • Loss
   • Offer
   • Personnel Casualty
   • Sell

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'sacrifice' in Nouns Frequency: #2815

How to pronounce sacrifice?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say sacrifice in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of sacrifice in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of sacrifice in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of sacrifice in a Sentence

1. Marcia Ferranto:

   This time of year always reminds us of the sacrifice of law enforcement and the importance of our mission to honor the fallen, tell the story of American law enforcement, and make it safer for those who serve.

2. Marc Anthony:

   This award means I had the honor of finding Marc Anthony with my public day after day, night after night, i dedicate it to my children for the sacrifice of having a father who travels so much, giving Marc Anthony each night to my fans. He added.

3. Richard Shipley:

   We thank this hard-working jury for their service to the public, their quest for justice, their personal sacrifice of their time and effort. We are not at all upset with them, neither should the public be upset. They did the best that they could.

4. John Cena:

   As of now, there are said to be no official plans to pick up the wedding planning, but the couple, who were recently spotted out together in San Diego where they shared a home, appears to be focused on moving their relationship forward. The news of the couple's reconciliation comes just a few days after the most recent episode of Total Bellas aired on Sunday night. In the episode, while in the middle of planning their vineyard wedding, Nikki Bella and John Cena made the hard decision to call off the wedding while the cameras were rolling. The 34-year-old reality star was captured crying as she explained to John Cena that she wanted to be a mother. I'll never force you not to be a mom, i thought I could really sacrifice that but I just ca n’t.

5. Mike Lampson and Rodney Sanders:

   His kids got stuck in that rip current, josh is the hero. He went out there. He paid the ultimate sacrifice. He gave his life for his kids.

Popularity rank by frequency of use