holocaust

noun

ho·​lo·​caust ˈhō-lə-ˌkȯst 

ˈhä-,

 also  -ˌkäst,

 or  ˈhȯ-lə-kȯst

1

: a sacrifice (see sacrifice entry 1 sense 2) consumed by fire

2

: a thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life especially through fire

a nuclear holocaust

3

a

usually the Holocaust : the mass slaughter of European civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II

Several members of her family died in the Holocaust.

a Holocaust survivor

b

: a mass slaughter of people

especially : genocide

a holocaust in Rwanda

Synonyms

• conflagration
• fire
• inferno

Examples of holocaust in a Sentence

The museum is devoted to the Holocaust.

There were fears of a nuclear holocaust.

Recent Examples on the Web

Where the needle falls between fact and fiction matters less than the balance Spielberg strikes between demonstrating the holocaust’s horrors and creating complex characters not with melodrama, but subtlety. —John Ortved, Vogue, 14 June 2024

And only when the construction of the Berlin Wall commenced in August of 1961 did an opportunity arise to hold a hot war at bay and stave off some of the era’s most catastrophic potentials, including a nuclear holocaust. —Dmitri Alperovitch, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2024

Former fixer takes the stand Trump gave his ex-lawyer a searing look as Cohen, the son of a holocaust survivor, described his upbringing in Nassau County, his education and journey to law school and how he was first introduced to Trump. —Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 13 May 2024

Not because of a nuclear holocaust or wasteland pandemic. —Jane Thier, Fortune, 29 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin holocaustum, from Greek holokauston, from neuter of holokaustos burnt whole, from hol- + kaustos burnt, from kaiein to burn — more at caustic

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

holocaust

noun

ho·​lo·​caust ˈhō-lə-ˌkȯst 

ˈhäl-ə-,

 also  -ˌkäst,

 or  ˈhȯ-lə-ˌkȯst

1

: a sacrifice destroyed by fire

2

: a thorough destruction especially by fire

3

a

often capitalized : the killing of European civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II

b

: genocide