1. A giving up of something valuable or important for someone or something else considered to be of more value or importance: There is at least one man who has been making many personal sacrifices to provide help for the city's homeless people.
2. A loss incurred by giving away or selling something below its value: The food store made many sacrifices in the prices of its products so more people could survive the aftermath of the hurricanes.
3. An offering to honor or to appease a god or gods; especially, of a ritually slaughtered animal or person: Descriptions of human sacrifices by some of the ancient civilizations in Central and South America reveal how extensive such slaughters took place.
4. In chess, an act or instance of allowing or forcing an opponent to take one of the pieces or pawns so the player can gain an advantageous position: As a clever player, Hans would often set up a sacrifice so his opponent would ultimately lose the game.
5. Etymology: from Old French sacrifise; from Latin sacrificium, from sacrificus, "performing priestly functions or sacrifices"; from sacra, "sacred rites"; from sacer, "sacred" + root of facere, "to do, to perform"; in other words, sacrifice means "to make holy".

1. To make an offering to a god or gods: The ancient Greeks sacrificed lambs or calves before engaging in battles.
2. To give up, to relinquish, or to forfeit something: Maggie Brown decided to sacrifice her trip to Europe for a new car.
3. To sell at a loss: Jeb Brown decided to sacrifice his big house for a smaller and less expensive one so he could use the money from the sale of his larger home to support his son's university education.