Moloch

UK: /ˈməʊlɒk/, /ˈməʊlɛk/ US: (mō′lok, mol′ək)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Mo•loch  (mō′lok, mol′ək), n. 

1. Bible a deity whose worship was marked by the propitiatory sacrifice of children by their own parents. II Kings 23:10;
   Jer. 32:35.
2. anything conceived of as requiring appalling sacrifice:
   the Moloch of war.
3. Reptiles (l.c.) a spiny agamid lizard, Moloch horridus, of Australian deserts, that resembles the horned lizard.

Also, Molech (for defs. 1, 2).

• Hebrew Mōlekh, variant of melekh king
• Greek (Septuagint) Móloch
• Late Latin (Vulgate) Moloch

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Moloch / ˈməʊlɒk/, Molech / ˈməʊlɛk/ noun

1. a Semitic deity to whom parents sacrificed their children