The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HECATOMB
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More clues leading to the result HECATOMB
- Macbeth cast, clutching Oscar: “it was quite a sacrifice”
- Sacrifice no time in playing Bach motet
- Sacrifice and explosive combat at sea
- That man about to introduce grave sacrifice
- Sacrifice male accountant placed on vault
- Mob dispersed following 17’s great sacrifice
- He started deadly combat with the sacrifice of many victims
- Large scale sacrifice at home involved eating cold cabbage essentially
- Macbeth tragically traps Banquo at the end resulting in a great slaughter
- Sacrifice male feline with round mark of the beast
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "great slaughter" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case great slaughter = hecatomb.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does HECATOMB mean?
HECATOMB noun- A great feast and public sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen.
- (by extension) Any great sacrifice; a great number of people, animals or things, especially as sacrificed or destroyed; a large amount.