'Sacrifice' definitions:

Definition of 'sacrifice'

(from WordNet)
noun
The act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc. [syn: forfeit, forfeiture, sacrifice]
noun
Personnel that are sacrificed (e.g., surrendered or lost in order to gain an objective)
noun
A loss entailed by giving up or selling something at less than its value; "he had to sell his car at a considerable sacrifice"
noun
The act of killing (an animal or person) in order to propitiate a deity [syn: sacrifice, ritual killing]
noun
(baseball) an out that advances the base runners
verb
Endure the loss of; "He gave his life for his children"; "I gave two sons to the war" [syn: sacrifice, give]
verb
Kill or destroy; "The animals were sacrificed after the experiment"; "The general had to sacrifice several soldiers to save the regiment"
verb
Sell at a loss
verb
Make a sacrifice of; in religious rituals

Definition of 'Sacrifice'

From: GCIDE
  • Sacrifice \Sac"ri*fice\ (?; 277), n. [OE. sacrifise, sacrifice, F. sacrifice, fr. L. sacrificium; sacer sacred + facere to make. See Sacred, and Fact.]
  • 1. The offering of anything to God, or to a god; consecratory rite. [1913 Webster]
  • Great pomp, and sacrifice, and praises loud, To Dagon. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood Of human sacrifice. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • My life, if thou preserv'st my life, Thy sacrifice shall be. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. A sale at a price less than the cost or the actual value. [Tradesmen's Cant] [1913 Webster]
  • Burnt sacrifice. See Burnt offering, under Burnt.
  • Sacrifice hit (Baseball), in batting, a hit of such a kind that the batter loses his chance of tallying, but enables one or more who are on bases to get home or gain a base. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Sacrifice'

From: GCIDE
  • Sacrifice \Sac"ri*fice\, v. i. To make offerings to God, or to a deity, of things consumed on the altar; to offer sacrifice. [1913 Webster]
  • O teacher, some great mischief hath befallen To that meek man, who well had sacrificed. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Sacrifice'

From: GCIDE
  • Sacrifice \Sac"ri*fice\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sacrificed; p. pr. & vb. n. Sacrificing.] [From Sacrifice, n.: cf. F. sacrifier, L. sacrificare; sacer sacred, holy + -ficare (only in comp.) to make. See -fy.]
  • 1. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Oft sacrificing bullock, lamb, or kid. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Condemned to sacrifice his childish years To babbling ignorance, and to empty fears. --Prior. [1913 Webster]
  • The Baronet had sacrificed a large sum . . . for the sake of . . . making this boy his heir. --G. Eliot. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To destroy; to kill. --Johnson. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To sell at a price less than the cost or the actual value. [Tradesmen's Cant] [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'sacrifice'

From: Easton
  • Sacrifice The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as a divine institution. It did not originate with man. God himself appointed it as the mode in which acceptable worship was to be offered to him by guilty man. The language and the idea of sacrifice pervade the whole Bible.
  • Sacrifices were offered in the ante-diluvian age. The Lord clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals, which in all probability had been offered in sacrifice (Gen. 3:21). Abel offered a sacrifice "of the firstlings of his flock" (4:4; Heb. 11:4). A distinction also was made between clean and unclean animals, which there is every reason to believe had reference to the offering up of sacrifices (Gen. 7:2, 8), because animals were not given to man as food till after the Flood.
  • The same practice is continued down through the patriarchal age (Gen. 8:20; 12:7; 13:4, 18; 15:9-11; 22:1-18, etc.). In the Mosaic period of Old Testament history definite laws were prescribed by God regarding the different kinds of sacrifices that were to be offered and the manner in which the offering was to be made. The offering of stated sacrifices became indeed a prominent and distinctive feature of the whole period (Ex. 12:3-27; Lev. 23:5-8; Num. 9:2-14). (See ALTAR.)
  • We learn from the Epistle to the Hebrews that sacrifices had in themselves no value or efficacy. They were only the "shadow of good things to come," and pointed the worshippers forward to the coming of the great High Priest, who, in the fullness of the time, "was offered once for all to bear the sin of many." Sacrifices belonged to a temporary economy, to a system of types and emblems which served their purposes and have now passed away. The "one sacrifice for sins" hath "perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
  • Sacrifices were of two kinds: 1. Unbloody, such as (1) first-fruits and tithes; (2) meat and drink-offerings; and (3) incense. 2. Bloody, such as (1) burnt-offerings; (2) peace-offerings; and (3) sin and trespass offerings. (See OFFERINGS.)

Synonyms of 'sacrifice'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Sacrifice'