Sacrifice \Sac"ri*fice\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sacrificed; p. pr. & vb. n. Sacrificing.]

[From Sacrifice, n.: cf. F. sacrifier, L. sacrificare; sacer sacred, holy + -ficare (only in comp.) to make. See -fy.]

1. To make an offering of; to consecrate or present to a divinity by way of expiation or propitiation, or as a token acknowledgment or thanksgiving; to immolate on the altar of God, in order to atone for sin, to procure favor, or to express thankfulness; as, to sacrifice an ox or a sheep.

Oft sacrificing bullock, lamb, or kid. --Milton.

2. Hence, to destroy, surrender, or suffer to be lost, for the sake of obtaining something; to give up in favor of a higher or more imperative object or duty; to devote, with loss or suffering.

Condemned to sacrifice his childish years To babbling ignorance, and to empty fears. --Prior.

The Baronet had sacrificed a large sum . . . for the sake of . . . making this boy his heir. --G. Eliot.

3. To destroy; to kill. --Johnson.

4. To sell at a price less than the cost or the actual value. [Tradesmen's Cant]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)