The meaning of SACRIFICE is the act of giving up or losing something of value for the sake of something else. How to use sacrifice in a sentence.

Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practiced by adherents of many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature.

sacrifice noun [C/U] (OFFERING OF LIFE) the act of offering the life of an animal or a person to a god or gods in the hope of pleasing them, or the animal or person that is offered:

The act of giving up something highly valued for the sake of something else considered to have a greater value or claim: Social activism often involves tremendous sacrifice.

SACRIFICE definition: the offering of animal, plant, or human life or of some material possession to a deity, as in propitiation or homage. See examples of sacrifice used in a sentence.

Dec 14, 2025 · Related Latin formations include sacrificus (“of or pertaining to sacrifice, sacrificial”)[3] and sacrificō (“to make a sacrifice”).

SACRIFICE meaning: 1 : the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone; 2 : an act of killing a person or animal in a religious …

To sacrifice an animal or person means to kill them in a special religious ceremony as an offering to a god. The priest sacrificed a chicken. [VERB noun] Two white bulls were sacrificed and a feast was …

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. …

Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital …