sacrifice
noun /ˈsækrɪfaɪs/
/ˈsækrɪfaɪs/
[countable, uncountable]- the fact of giving up something important or valuable to you in order to get or do something that seems more important; something that you give up in this way
- The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality.
- Her parents made sacrifices so that she could have a good education.
- to make the ultimate/supreme sacrifice (= to die for your country, to save a friend, etc.)
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- considerable
- enormous
- …
- be
- make
- involve
- …
- sacrifice (to somebody) the act of offering something to a god, especially an animal that has been killed in a special way; an animal, etc. that is offered in this way
- They offered sacrifices to the gods.
- a human sacrifice (= a person killed as a sacrifice)
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- animal
- human
- pagan
- …
- perform
- offer (something as)
- sacrifice to
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French, from Latin sacrificium; related to sacrificus ‘sacrificial’, from sacer ‘holy’.