SACRIFICE

Definitions

1. 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. 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. 3. To destroy; to kill. Johnson.
4. 4. To sell at a price less than the cost or the actual value. [Tradesmen's Cant]