definitions

holocaust

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

a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire.
a sacrifice completely consumed by fire; burnt offering.
(usually initial capital letter) the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II (usually preceded by the).
any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life.

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RELATED WORDS

devastation, extermination, catastrophe, massacre, slaughter, genocide, carnage, annihilation, inferno, extinction, immolation

Nearby words

holo-, holobenthic, holoblastic, holocaine, holocarpic, holocaust, holocene, holocord, holocrine, holocrine gland, holocrystalline

Origin of holocaust

1200–50; Middle English < Late Latin holocaustum (Vulgate) < Greek holókauston (Septuagint), neuter of holókaustos burnt whole. See holo-, caustic

Related forms

hol·o·caus·tal, adjectivehol·o·caus·tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for holocaust

British Dictionary definitions for holocaust

holocaust

/ (ˈhɒləˌkɔːst) /

noun

great destruction or loss of life or the source of such destruction, esp fire
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
a rare word for burnt offering

Derived Forms

holocaustal or holocaustic, adjective

Word Origin for holocaust

C13: from Late Latin holocaustum whole burnt offering, from Greek holokauston, from holo- + kaustos, from kaiein to burn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for holocaust

Holocaust

[ (hol-uh-kawst, hoh-luh-kawst) ]

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.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.