- [countable]
a situation in which many things are destroyed and many people killed, especially because of a war or a fire （尤指战争或火灾引起的）大灾难，大毁灭 a nuclear holocaust 核灾难
- the Holocaust[singular]
the killing of millions of Jews by the German Nazi government in the period 1941–5 （20 世纪 30 年代和 40 年代纳粹对数百万犹太人的）大屠杀
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French holocauste, via late Latin from Greek holokauston, from holos ‘whole’ + kaustos ‘burnt’ (from kaiein ‘burn’).