This is the 11647th most frequent French word.
sacrifice
The act of giving up something valuable for the sake of others or a higher purpose.
The word 'sacrifice' is used in a literal sense to indicate giving up something valuable for someone else's benefit.
Il a fait un grand sacrifice pour aider sa famille.
He made a great sacrifice to help his family.
Here, 'sacrifié' (the verb form) expresses the notion of willingly foregoing personal pleasure or time to achieve a goal.
Le sportif a sacrifié ses vacances pour s’entraîner intensément.
The athlete sacrificed his vacation to train intensively.
In this sentence, 'sacrifices' are portrayed as historical acts of hardship endured for the benefit of future generations.