be sacrificed on the altar of something
be sacrificed on the altar of something
phrase [VERB inflects, oft PHR n]
altarIf you say that someone or something is sacrificed at the altar of another thing, you mean they suffer or are destroyed because of that thing.
Napoleon's army was sacrificed on the altar of folly in the disastrous Russian campaign.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
