I. sac ‧ ri ‧ fice 1 /ˈsækrəfaɪs, ˈsækrɪfaɪs/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin sacrificium , from sacer ( ⇨ ↑ sacred ) + facere 'to make' ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] when you decide not to have something valuable, in order to get something that is more important:
The minister stressed the need for economic sacrifice.
The workforce were willing to make sacrifices in order to preserve jobs.
She brought three children up single-handedly, often at great personal sacrifice.
2 .
a) [uncountable and countable] the act of offering something to a god, especially in the past, by killing an animal or person in a religious ceremony:
They made sacrifices to ensure a good harvest.
b) [countable] an animal, person, or object offered to a god in sacrifice
sacrifice to
In those days, an animal was offered as a sacrifice to God.
a human sacrifice (=a person killed as a sacrifice)
3 . literary the final/supreme/ultimate sacrifice the act of dying while you are fighting for a principle or in order to help other people:
Captain Oates made the ultimate sacrifice in a bid to save his colleagues.
II. sacrifice 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [transitive] to willingly stop having something you want or doing something you like in order to get something more important
sacrifice something for something
A Labour government chose to sacrifice defence for welfare.
sacrifice something to do something
He sacrificed a promising career to look after his kids.
sacrifice yourself (for something)
mothers who sacrifice themselves for their children
REGISTER
In everyday English, people often say give up rather than sacrifice :
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He gave up a promising career to look after his kids.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] to kill an animal or person and offer them to a god in a religious ceremony