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Definition of sacrifice verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

sacrifice

verb
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪs/
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪs/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they sacrifice
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪs/
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪs/
he / she / it sacrifices
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪsɪz/
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪsɪz/
past simple sacrificed
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪst/
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪst/
past participle sacrificed
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪst/
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪst/
-ing form sacrificing
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪsɪŋ/
 
/ˈsækrɪfaɪsɪŋ/
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  1. [transitive] to give up something that is important or valuable to you in order to get or do something that seems more important for yourself or for another person
    • sacrifice something for somebody/something She sacrificed everything for her children.
    • The designers have sacrificed speed for fuel economy.
    • sacrifice something Would you sacrifice a football game to go out with a girl?
    • sacrifice something to something In her writing, clarity is sometimes sacrificed to brevity.
    Extra Examples
    • soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their country
    • Comfort has been sacrificed for the sake of improved performance.
    • She was prepared to sacrifice having a family in order to pursue her career.
    • He sacrificed a rook in order to win his opponent’s queen.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • gladly
    • willingly
    verb + sacrifice
    • be forced to
    • be obliged to
    • have to
    preposition
    • for
    • to
    phrases
    • sacrifice something for the sake of something
    See full entry
  2. [transitive, intransitive] sacrifice (somebody/something) to kill an animal or a person and offer it or them to a god, in order to please the godTopics Religion and festivalsc1
  3. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French, from Latin sacrificium; related to sacrificus ‘sacrificial’, from sacer ‘holy’.
See sacrifice in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee sacrifice in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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