Sac·ri·fice v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sacrificed p. pr. & vb. n. Sacrificing ]
 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.
 4. To sell at a price less than the cost or the actual value. [Tradesmen's Cant]