To sacrifice means to give up something valuable or important for the sake of something else you care about even more. When a basketball player sacrifices her chance to score by passing to a teammate with a better shot, she's putting the team's success ahead of her own glory. When parents sacrifice their free time to help with homework or drive to practice, they're choosing their children's needs over their own comfort.

The word carries weight because real sacrifice involves loss. It's not sacrifice if you give up something you don't want anyway. A student who sacrifices sleep to study for a big test is trading rest for preparation. A family might sacrifice a vacation to save money for something more important. Sometimes people sacrifice their safety to help others, like firefighters rushing into burning buildings.

In ancient times, people made sacrifices to their gods by offering valuable animals or crops, believing these gifts would earn divine favor. Today we still use sacrifice as a noun: “Her years of practice were a sacrifice that led to success.”

The word reminds us that achieving meaningful goals often requires trading something good for something better. When you sacrifice immediate pleasure for long-term benefit, or personal gain for someone else's welfare, you're making a choice that reveals what matters most to you.