Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

holocaust

/ˈhɑl.əˌkɔst/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.89 in modern English

Syllables
ho-lo-caust
IPA
/ˈhɑl.əˌkɔst/
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of Holocaust (“the systematic mass murder (democide or genocide) of Jews (and, more broadly, of disabled people, homosexuals, Romanis, Slavs, and others) perpetrated by Nazi Germany shortly before and during World War II”); hence, the state-sponsored mass murder of a particular group of people in society.

verb

To sacrifice (chiefly an animal) to be completely burned.

Transitive verb

verb

To destroy (something) completely, especially by fire.

Transitive verb

verb

To subject (a group of people) to a holocaust (mass annihilation); to destroy en masse.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English holocaust (“burnt offering”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman holocauste, Old French holocauste, olocauste (modern French holocaust), from Late Latin holocaustum, from Ancient Greek ὁλόκαυστον (holókauston), the neuter form of ὁλόκαυστος (holókaustos, “wholly burnt”), from ὅλος (hólos, “entire, whole”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- (“whole”)) + καυστός (kaustós, “burnt”) (from καίω (kaíō, “to burn, burn up”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂w-). By surface analysis, holo- + -caust. The verb is derived from the noun. As regards verb sense 3 (“to subject (a group of people) to a holocaust”), compare the use of genocide as a verb.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *solh₂-, holocaust, holocauste, holocaustum, ὁλόκαυστον, *keh₂w-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈhɑl.əˌkɔst/
  • British English: /ˈhɒl.ə(ʊ)ˌkɔːst/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Oxygenation Holocaust oxygen holocaust holo- ethnic cleansing Nazi persecution of Romanis Jehovah's Witnesses Soviet prisoners-of-war and homosexuals

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

hecatomb Shoah the Nazi genocide

Questions

How do you pronounce holocaust?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɑl.əˌkɔst/.
What does holocaust mean?
An offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes.
Where does holocaust come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce holocaust

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “holocaust”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɑl.əˌkɔst/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “holocaust”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “holocaust” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.