The act of offering something to a deity in propitiation or homage, especially the ritual slaughter of an animal or a person, A victim offered in this way, Baseball A sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly, intransitive verb_ To offer as a sacrifice to a deity, To kill (an animal) for purposes of scientific research or experimentation, To make offerings to God, or to a deity, of things consumed on the altar; to offer sacrifice, transitive verb_ To destroy; to kill, 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, To offer (something) as a gift to a deity, verb_ endure the loss of, make a sacrifice of; in religious rituals, kill or destroy