- 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
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
hol•o•caust /ˈhɑləˌkɔst, ˈhoʊlə-/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a great or complete destruction, esp. by fire:a nuclear holocaust.
- a sacrifice offered to God or to gods and burned.
- World History the Holocaust, the mass killing of European Jews and other civilians in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
hol•o•caust
(hol′ə kôst′, hō′lə-),USA pronunciation n.
hol′o•caus′tal, adj.
hol′o•caus′tic, adj.
- a great or complete devastation or destruction, esp. by fire.
- a sacrifice completely consumed by fire;
burnt offering. - World History(usually cap.) the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II (usually prec. by the).
- any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life.
- Greek holókauston (Septuagint), neuter of holókaustos burnt whole. See holo-, caustic
- Late Latin holocaustum (Vulgate)
- Middle English 1200–50
hol′o•caus′tic, adj.
- 1. inferno, conflagration, ruin, havoc, ravage.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
holocaust /ˈhɒləˌkɔːst/ n
'holocaust' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):