sacrifice

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [C,U] the fact of giving up sth important or valuable to you in order to get or do sth that seems more important; sth that you give up in this way: The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. * Her parents made sacrifices so that she could have a good education. * to make the final / supreme sacrifice (= to die for your country, to save a friend, etc.) 2 ~ (to sb) [C,U] the act of offering sth to a god, especially an animal that has been killed in a special way; an animal, etc. that is offered in this way: They offered sacrifices to the gods. * a human sacrifice (= a person killed as a sacrifice) verb 1 [VN] ~ sth (for sb/sth) to give up sth that is important or valuable to you in order to get or do sth that seems more important for yourself or for another person: She sacrificed everything for her children. * The designers have sacrificed speed for fuel economy. * Would you sacrifice a football game to go out with a girl? * In her writing, clarity is sometimes sacrificed to brevity. * He sacrificed a rook in order to win his opponent's queen. 2 [VN, V] to kill an animal or a person and offer it or them to a god, in order to please the god