# sacrifice

Pronunciation: US say "SAK-ruh-fys" /ˈsækɹəˌfaɪs/; UK say "SAK-ri-fys" /ˈsækɹɪfaɪs/

## Noun

1. The giving up or destruction of something valued for the sake of something else considered more important; also, the thing so given up.
   - Simple: Giving up something important so you can gain or protect something you care about more.
   - _Moving to a smaller home was a sacrifice the family accepted to pay off their debts._
   - _Athletes know that real achievement demands sacrifice of comfort and free time._
3. The killing (often by burning) of a person or animal as an offering to a deity, or later the offering of an object.
   - Simple: The killing of an animal or person, or offering of an object, as a gift to a god.
   - _Archaeologists found an altar where ritual sacrifice once took place._
   - _The priests performed a sacrifice at dawn to honor the harvest deity._
5. A person, animal, object, or other thing presented to a deity as an offering.
   - Simple: A living thing or object that is offered to a god as a gift.
   - _The white heifer became the sacrifice offered at the spring rites._
   - _Worshippers brought grain and fruit as the sacrifice for their household god._
6. Jesus Christ's voluntary offering of himself, dying on the cross to atone for the sins of humankind.
   - Simple: Jesus Christ's willing death on the cross to pay for the sins of all people.
   - _The hymn celebrates the sacrifice by which Christ redeemed the world._
   - _For believers, the cross stands as the supreme sacrifice for human sin._
7. The offering of devotion, prayer, penitence, or thanksgiving to a deity in place of a material gift.
   - Simple: The giving of prayer, thanks, or sorrow to a god as a kind of offering.
   - _The psalm describes heartfelt prayer as a sacrifice more acceptable than burnt offerings._
   - _Monks regarded their hours of penitence as a continual sacrifice of praise._
9. A deliberate giving up of one of your pieces to the opponent in order to gain a stronger position.
   - Simple: A move where you let the other player take one of your pieces to get a better spot.
   - _The grandmaster's bishop sacrifice opened a path to checkmate._
   - _A well-timed sacrifice can shatter the opponent's defense._
11. Ellipsis of sacrifice bunt or sacrifice hit. — Ellipsis of sacrifice bunt or sacrifice hit (“a play in which the batter intentionally hits the ball softly with a hands-spread batting stance at the cost of an out to advance one or more runners”).
   - Simple: Short form of sacrifice bunt or sacrifice hit. A baseball play where the batter gives up an out to move a runner.
   - _With one out, the coach called for a sacrifice to move the runner along._
   - _Her sacrifice in the eighth inning set up the tying run._
14. The rite of Holy Communion or the Mass, regarded either as an offering of thanksgiving to God for Christ's crucifixion or as a continual re-enactment of Christ's own offering.
   - Simple: In Christian worship, Holy Communion or the Mass, seen as an offering made to God.
   - _For Catholics, the sacrifice of the Mass renews Christ's offering at every altar._
   - _The reformers debated whether the sacrifice was a thanksgiving or something more._
17. In the card game bridge, a bid for a contract unlikely to be made, offered in the hope of losing fewer penalty points than opponents would gain by fulfilling their own contract.
   - Simple: In bridge, a bid you expect to lose, made so you lose fewer points than your opponents would gain.
   - _Facing a vulnerable game, North took a sacrifice in five clubs._
   - _The sacrifice paid off, costing far fewer points than the opponents' game would have._

## Verb

2. To give up or destroy something of value for the sake of something else regarded as more important.
   - Simple: To give up something you value to get or protect something you want more.
   - _She sacrificed a promising career to care for her aging parents._
   - _Good leaders sometimes sacrifice short-term profits for long-term trust._
4. To offer a human being, an animal, or an object to a deity as a religious act.
   - Simple: To kill an animal or person, or give up an object, as a gift to a god.
   - _The priest sacrificed a young bull on the stone altar._
   - _Ancient communities would sacrifice their finest livestock to ensure a good harvest._
8. To kill or destroy a person or animal; specifically, in the sciences, to kill an animal for an experiment or test.
   - Simple: To kill an animal or person, especially to kill an animal for a science experiment.
   - _After collecting the data, the team sacrificed the test animals humanely._
   - _Protocol requires that scientists sacrifice the subjects only under anesthesia._
10. To deliberately let the opponent capture one of your pieces in order to gain a stronger position.
   - Simple: To let the other player capture one of your pieces on purpose to get a better position.
   - _He sacrificed his rook to expose the enemy king._
   - _Strong players will sacrifice material whenever the attack justifies it._
12. Of a batter, to advance one or more base runners by batting the ball so it can be fielded, giving up an out in the exchange.
   - Simple: In baseball, to bat the ball so you are put out but a base runner can move ahead.
   - _With one out, she sacrificed the lead runner to third base._
   - _A skilled bunter can sacrifice two runners on a single play._
13. Of a batter, to bat the ball so it can be fielded, accepting the out so that one or more base runners are free to advance.
   - Simple: In baseball, to hit the ball on purpose so you are put out but a runner can move ahead.
   - _Rather than swing away, the batter chose to sacrifice with a runner on second._
   - _He sacrificed cleanly, dropping the bunt down the third-base line._
15. To make an offering to a god, whether of a person, an animal, or some object.
   - Simple: To kill an animal or offer a gift to a god as an act of worship.
   - _Each spring the villagers sacrificed to ensure a good harvest._
   - _Worshippers came to sacrifice at the great stone altar._
16. To celebrate the rite of Holy Communion or the Mass.
   - Simple: To lead the Christian service of Holy Communion or Mass.
   - _Newly ordained, he sacrificed for the first time before the whole parish._
   - _The bishop will sacrifice at the cathedral on the feast day._
18. In the card game bridge, to bid a contract unlikely to be fulfilled, hoping to lose fewer penalty points than opponents would gain by making their own contract.
   - Simple: In bridge, to make a bid you expect to lose, so you lose fewer points than your opponents would gain.
   - _Holding weak cards, North decided to sacrifice rather than let the contract stand._
   - _The pair sacrificed in five hearts and escaped with a small penalty._

## Noun

19. A financial loss taken by selling something below its value; also, the item sold in this way. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A money loss from selling something for less than it is worth, or the thing sold that way.
   - _Desperate for cash, she let the furniture go at a sacrifice._
   - _The painting was a real sacrifice at that price._

## Verb

20. To sell something at less than its value, taking a monetary loss as a result. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To sell something for less than it is worth, so you lose money on the deal.
   - _Facing bankruptcy, the owner sacrificed his entire inventory overnight._
   - _Rather than store them, she chose to sacrifice the unsold coats at cost._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3, 5–7, 9, 11, 14, 17, 19** — This word comes from Middle English sacrifice, borrowed via Anglo-Norman and Old French from Latin sacrificium (something offered to a deity). That Latin word joined sacrum (sacrifice, sacrificial rite), a form of the adjective sacer (holy, sacred), with faciō (to do, to make) and the abstract-noun suffix -ium. The root sacer traces back to Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- (ceremony, ritual; to make sacred), while faciō goes back to *dʰeh₁- (to do; to place).
**Meanings 2, 4, 8, 10, 12–13, 15–16, 18, 20** — This verb comes from Middle English sacrificen (to offer a sacrifice to a deity), formed from the noun sacrifice (see etymology 1) plus -en, a suffix that formed the infinitives of verbs.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sacrifice (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).