holocaust

American  

[hol-uh-kawst, hoh-luh-] / ˈhɒl əˌkɔst, ˈhoʊ lə- /

noun

1. a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire.

   Synonyms:

   ravage, havoc, ruin, conflagration, inferno

2. a sacrifice completely consumed by fire; burnt offering.

3. Usually the Holocaust the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

4. any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life.

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holocaust British  

/ ˈhɒləˌkɔːst /

noun

1. great destruction or loss of life or the source of such destruction, esp fire

2. Also called: the Churban.   the Shoah.  (usually capital) the mass murder of Jews and members of many other ethnic, social, and political groups in continental Europe between 1940 and 1945 by the Nazi regime

3. a rare word for burnt offering

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Holocaust Cultural  

1. The killing of some six million Jews (see also Jews) by the Nazis during World War II. To the Nazis, the Holocaust was the “Final Solution” to the “Jewish problem,” and would help them establish a pure German master race. Much of the killing took place in concentration camps, such as Auschwitz and Dachau. (See Adolf Eichmann and Heinrich Himmler.)

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Other Word Forms

• holocaustal adjective
• holocaustic adjective

Etymology

Origin of holocaust

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Late Latin holocaustum (Vulgate), from Greek holókauston (Septuagint), neuter of holókaustos “burnt whole”; holo-, caustic

Example Sentences

Alexander Kleytman was a holocaust survivor who came to Australia from Ukraine.

From BBC

In the 1950s, it was a nuclear holocaust and in the 1960s a population bomb and deforestation.

From The Wall Street Journal

His social commentary encompassed war, protests, ghetto life, police brutality, pollution, and nuclear holocaust.

From Los Angeles Times

In 1983, the nuclear holocaust film “The Day After,” also on ABC, was watched by more than 100 million people.

From Los Angeles Times

And it will only get worse, as Frank and other biologists have argued about a "biological holocaust," unless we take action to protect wildlife, including bats.

From Salon

Related Words

• immolation
• inferno