/ ˈhɒləkɔːst; NAmE ˈhɑːlə-; ˈhoʊlə-/ noun
1.
[ C ] a situation in which many things are destroyed and many people killed, especially because of a war or a fire :
a nuclear holocaust
2.
the Holocaust [ sing. ] the killing of millions of Jews by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French holocauste , via late Latin from Greek holokauston , from holos whole + kaustos burnt (from kaiein burn).