Word.ws English Dictionary

sacrifice

Syllables: sac·ri·ficeUK/ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs//ˈsæk.ɹɪˌfaɪs/

sacrifice noun: originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity. Also the ellipsis of sacrifice bunt or sacrifice hit.

Noun

sacrifice (countable and uncountable, plural sacrifices)

  1. Originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity.
    • They firſt vvaſh the dead body, paint him, clothe him, and ſo conueigh him to his Dormitorie, vvhich is ſpacious and neat, vvherein they bury his Armolets, Bracelets, Shackles and ſuch Treaſure, concluding their Ceremonies vvith Mimmicke geſtures and eiaculations: vvhich, vvith the Sacrifice of a...1634, T[homas] H[erbert], “[Angola]”, in A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William Stansby, and Jacob Bloome, →OCLC, pages 9–10
    • [T]he Beaſts they offered in ſacrifice, and the Gifts they offered, and their actions in VVorſhipping, vvere full of ſubmiſſion, and commemorative of benefits received, vvas according to reaſon, as proceeding from an intention to honour him [God].1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of the Kingdome of God by Nature”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke...
  2. A human being or an animal, or a physical object or immaterial thing (see etymology 1 sense 1.3), offered to a deity.
    • O th'inchaunting vvords of that baſe ſlaue, / Made him to thinke Epeus pine-tree Horſe [i.e., the Trojan Horse] / A ſacrifize t'appeaſe Mineruas vvrath: […]1594, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nash[e], The Tragedie of Dido Queene of Carthage: […], London: […] Widdowe Orwin, for Thomas Woodcocke, […], →OCLC, Act II, signature [B4], verso
    • Make of your Prayers one ſvveet Sacrifice, / And lift my Soule to Heauen.1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio)...
  3. (figuratively) The offering of devotion, penitence, prayer, thanksgiving, etc., to a deity.
    • Let vs therfore by him [Jesus] offre allwayes vnto God the ſacrifice of prayſe: that is to ſaye, the frute of thoſe lippes which confeſſe his name.1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Hebrues xiij:[15]...
    • [W]e thy humble ſeruauntes […] entierely deſiryng thy fatherly goodnes, mercifully to accepte this our Sacrifice of praiſe and thankes geuing: […]1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, “The Supper of the Lorde, and the Holy Communion, Commonly Called the Masse”, in The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the...
  4. (specifically) Jesus Christ's voluntary offering of himself to God the Father to be crucified as atonement for the sins of humankind.
  5. (broadly, specifically) The rite of Holy Communion or the Mass, regarded as (Protestantism) an offering of thanksgiving to God for Christ's crucifixion, or (Roman Catholicism) a perpetual re-presentation of Christ's sacrificial offering.
    • The pretensions of the holy see, the authority of tradition, purgatory, transubstantiation, the sacrifice of the mass, […] were copiously discussed.1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter VI, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, pages 109–110
  6. (figuratively) The destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else regarded as more urgent or valuable; also, the thing destroyed or surrendered for this purpose.
    • the sacrifice of one’s spare time in order to volunteer
    • As rich ſhall Romeo by his Lady [Juliet] lie, / Poore Sacrifices to our Enmitie.c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] Romeo and Juliet. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, published 1597, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], signature [K4], recto
  7. (figuratively) In full sacrifice bid: a bid of a contract which is unlikely to be fulfilled, that a player makes in the hope that they will incur fewer penalty points than the points likely to be gained by opponents in making their contract.
    Synonyms:
    save
  8. (dated, figuratively, slang) A monetary loss incurred by selling something at less than its value; also, the thing thus sold.
    • The Old Year was already looked upon as dead; and its effects were selling cheap like some drowned mariner's aboardship. Its patterns were Last Year's and going at a sacrifice, before its breath was gone. Its treasures were mere dirt, beside the riches of its unborn successor!1844 (date written), Charles Dickens, “The Second Quarter”, in The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year out and a New Year in, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1845...
    • [H]e bought a green shawl for Mrs. Bolton, and a yellow one for Fanny: the most brilliant "sacrifices" of a Regent-street haberdasher's window.1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Conversations”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 216
  9. (figuratively) An act of intentionally allowing one's piece to be captured by the opponent in order to improve one's position in the game.

Verb

sacrifice (third-person singular simple present sacrifices, present participle sacrificing, simple past and past participle sacrificed)

  1. (transitive) To offer (a human being or an animal, or an object) to a deity.
    • And there ſhall bee no leauened bread ſeene with thee in all thy coaſts ſeuen dayes, neither ſhall there any thing of the fleſh, which thou ſacrificedſt the firſt day at Euen, remaine all night, vntill the morning.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 16:4, column 2
    • [B]oth the muſes and the graces are his hard Miſtriſſes, though he daily Invocate them, though he ſacrifize Hecatombs, they ſtil look a ſquint, […]a. 1632 (date written), John Donne, “[Characters.] The True Character of a Dunce.”, in Paradoxes, Problemes, Essayes, Characters, […], London: […] T. N. for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1652...
    Synonyms:
    Molochise, Molochize
  2. (broadly, figuratively, transitive) To destroy or kill (a human being or an animal); specifically (sciences), to kill (an animal) for a scientific experiment or test.
    • Condemn'd to ſacrifice his childiſh Years / To babling Ign'rance, and to empty Fears; […]1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, page 476
    • Heaven chastises thee, Baharkan! Thou wast cruel, vindictive, and inexorable. With thee humanity had no value. Thou sacrificedst thy brethren on the slightest suspicion.1812, “The Story of Baharkan, the Intemperate”, in Tales of the East: Comprising the Most Popular Romances of Oriental Origin; […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Company] for John...
  3. (broadly, figuratively, transitive) To destroy or surrender (something) for the sake of something else regarded as more urgent or valuable.
    • Venison has many advantages over meat from factory farms, although it still requires a hunter to sacrifice the life of a deer.
    • Deuce take lady S⁠⸺; and if I know D⁠⸺⁠y, he is a rawboned faced fellow, not handsome, nor visibly so young as you say: she sacrifices two thousand pounds a year, and keeps only six hundred.1710 October 1 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Jonathan Swift, “[Dr. Swift’s Journal to Stella.] Letter IV.”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […]...
  4. (broadly, figuratively, transitive) Of a batter: to advance (one or more runners on base) by batting the ball so it can be fielded, placing the batter out but with insufficient time to put the runner(s) out.
  5. (broadly, dated, figuratively, slang, transitive) To sell (something) at less than its value, thus incurring a monetary loss.
    • A newspaper advertisement announces that "A professional gentleman is instructed to sacrifice Three young sound Horses at half their cost." We wonder what deity horses could be sacrificed to?1850 March 30, “Sacrifice Extraordinary”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, volume XVIII, London: […] William Bradbury, […], and Frederick Mullett Evans, […], →OCLC, page 130, column 2
  6. (broadly, figuratively, transitive) To intentionally allow (a piece) to be captured by the opponent in order to improve one's position in the game.
  7. (intransitive) To offer a human being or an animal, or an object, to a deity.
    • All things come alike to all: there is one euent to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the cleane, and to the vncleane; to him that ſacrificeth, and to him that ſacrificeth not: as is the good, ſo is the ſinner, and hee that ſweareth, as he that feareth an oath.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ecclesiastes 9:2, column 1
    • Like a coy maiden, eaſe, vvhen courted moſt, / Fartheſt retires—an idol, at vvhoſe ſhrine / VVho oft'neſt ſacrifice are favor'd leaſt.1785, William Cowper, “Book I. The Sofa.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 22
  8. (broadly, figuratively, intransitive) Of a batter: to bat the ball so that it can be fielded, placing the batter out but allowing one or more runners on base to advance.
  9. (broadly, figuratively, intransitive) To make a bid of a contract which is unlikely to be fulfilled, in the hope that that the player will incur fewer penalty points than the points likely to be gained by opponents in making their contract.
  10. (broadly, figuratively, intransitive) To celebrate Holy Communion or Mass.
    • For what power but God's can make good the promise of tendering the Body and Blood of Christ, as a visible mean^([sic]) to convey His Spirit? And he that goes about to make this change by consecrating the eucharist, must needs be understood to acknowledge this power of God's; but this is not that...1659, Herbert Thorndike, “[An Epilogue to the Tragedy of the Church of England, […].] Chapter V. It Cannot be Proved by the Old Testament that the Eucharist is a Sacrifice. How by the New Testament...

Also used as

sacrifice is also the ellipsis of sacrifice bunt or sacrifice hit.

sacrifice meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

sacrifice in Hindi

killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; offering of an object to a deity
बलि bali
human being or an animal, or a physical object or immaterial thing, offered to a deity
त्याग tyāg, बलि bali
destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else regarded as more urgent or valuable; the thing destroyed or surrendered for this purpose
बलिदान balidān
(transitive) to offer (a human being or an animal, or an object) to a deity; (transitive) to offer a human being or an animal, or an object, to a deity
क़ुरबान करना qurbān karnā

sacrifice in Tamil

தியாகம் செய்தல், தியாகம்

sacrifice in Urdu

human being or an animal, or a physical object or immaterial thing, offered to a deity
قُرْبانی qurbānī

sacrifice in Bengali

killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; offering of an object to a deity
কুরবানী kurbani, বলি boli
human being or an animal, or a physical object or immaterial thing, offered to a deity
কুরবানী kurbani
(transitive) to offer (a human being or an animal, or an object) to a deity; (transitive) to offer a human being or an animal, or an object, to a deity
বলিদান করা bolidan kora, কুরবান করা kurban kora
More languagesFewer languages
sacrifice in Telugu
త్యాగం tyāgaṁ
sacrifice in Malayalam
ബലി bali, ത്യാഗം tyāgaṁ
sacrifice in Kannada
ತ್ಯಾಗ
sacrifice in Punjabi
ਵਾਰਨਾ vārnā, وارنا vārnā
sacrifice in Gujarati
બલિદાન આપવું, બલિદાન
sacrifice in Odia
ବଳିଦାନ
sacrifice in Sanskrit
यजति yajati
sacrifice in Nepali
बलिदान
sacrifice in Pashto
قرباني qorbāní
sacrifice in Arabic
تَضْحِيَة taḍḥiya, قُرْبَان qurbān, ضَحِيَّة ḍaḥiyya, ضَحَّى ḍaḥḥā
sacrifice in Malay
korban, pengorbanan
sacrifice in Thai
ยัญ yan, เมธ mêet, พลี pá-lii, บูชา buu-chaa
sacrifice in Vietnamese
lễ vật, thí, tế, cúng tế
Sindhi
ٻَلِ ḇali

Examples of sacrifice in a sentence

  • Does the mute Sacrifice upbraid the Prieſt? / He knovvs him not his Executioner.1677 (first performance), John Dryden, All for Love: Or, The World Well Lost. A Tragedy, […], [London]: […] Tho[mas] Newcomb, for Henry...
  • And they ſhall come […] bringing ſacrifices of praiſe vnto the houſe of the Lord.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 17:26, column 2:
  • Ambition this ſhall tempt to riſe, / Then vvhirl the vvretch from high, / To bitter Scorn a ſacrifice, / And grinning Infamy.1753, T[homas] Gray, “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College”, in Designs by Mr. R[ichard] Bentley, for Six Poems by Mr. T. Gray...
  • [Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of] Clarendon saw that he was not likely to gain anything by the sacrifice of his principles, and determined to take them back again.1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter X, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume II, London: Longman, Brown...

All 40 example sentences with sacrifice

Synonyms of sacrifice

Forms of sacrifice

Noun
pluralsacrifices
Verb
third-person singular presentsacrifices
present participlesacrificing
past participlesacrificed
pastsacrificed
second-person singular present (archaic)sacrificest
second-person singular past (archaic)sacrificedst
third-person singular present (archaic)sacrificeth

Past tense of sacrifice: sacrificed

Plural of sacrifice: sacrifices

Origin of sacrifice

From Middle English sacrifice (“act of offering a life or object to a deity; the life or object so offered”), from Anglo-Norman sacrefiz, and Old French sacrifice, sacrifise (modern French sacrifice), from Latin sacrificium (“something offered to a deity, sacrifice”), from sacrum (“sacrifice, sacrificial rite”) + faciō (“to do, to make”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). The noun sacrum is the nominalized neuter of the adjective sacer (“devoted to a deity for sacrifice; holy, sacred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- (“ceremony, ritual; to make sacred”), and the verb faciō is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”). Related Latin formations include sacrificus (“of or pertaining to sacrifice, sacrificial”) and sacrificō (“to make a sacrifice”). Displaced native Old English blōt and hūsl. Cognates * Italian sagrifizio * Occitan sacrifici * Portuguese sacrificio * Spanish sacrificio

From Middle English sacrificen (“to offer a sacrifice to a deity”), from sacrifice (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming infinitives of verbs).

Words formed from sacrifice

Phrases with sacrifice

Words that rhyme with sacrifice

31 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about sacrifice

What does sacrifice mean?
Sacrifice means originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity.
What is sacrifice in Hindi?
Sacrifice in Hindi is बलि (bali), त्याग (tyāg), बलिदान (balidān). See Sacrifice meaning in Hindi.
How do you use sacrifice in a sentence?
Does the mute Sacrifice upbraid the Prieſt? / He knovvs him not his Executioner.
What part of speech is sacrifice?
Sacrifice can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce sacrifice?
Sacrifice is pronounced /ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/ (UK).
What is the plural of sacrifice?
The plural of sacrifice is sacrifices.

Words near sacrifice in the dictionary

  1. sacrification
  2. sacrificator
  3. sacrificators
  4. sacrificatory
  5. sacrificature
  6. sacrifice
  7. sacrifice area
  8. sacrifice bunt
  9. sacrifice bunts
  10. sacrifice flies
  11. sacrifice fly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sacrifice (page history and authors); sacrifice (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sacrifice (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sacrifice (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sacrifice (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sacrifice (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-sacrifice.ogg.

Cite this entry: “sacrifice.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sacrifice. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.