sacrament

noun

sac·ra·ment | \ ˈsa-krə-mənt

Definition of sacrament

1a : a Christian rite (such as baptism or the Eucharist) that is believed to have been ordained by Christ and that is held to be a means of divine grace or to be a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality

b : a religious rite or observance comparable to a Christian sacrament

2 capitalized

a : communion sense 2a

b : blessed sacrament

3 : something likened to a religious sacrament saw voting as a sacrament of democracy

Examples of sacrament in a Sentence

They stood in line to receive the Sacrament.

Recent Examples on the Web

Through a friend, my mom got a meeting with a priest, who handed her a stack of paperwork to homeschool me on the sacrament. — Sara Eckel, Longreads, "The Hole in My Soul," 1 June 2018 Catholics understand that the sacrament of reconciliation, or confession, consists not only of confession and forgiveness—but penance. — James Martin, WSJ, "The Missing Link in Sex-Abuse Reform," 20 May 2018 Phillips is barred from performing any priestly duties, including administering the sacraments. — Elvia Malagon, chicagotribune.com, "Longtime pastor removed from St. John Cantius Catholic Parish amid investigation," 18 Mar. 2018 Looking to reverse dwindling membership, Church leaders are launching a new outreach to other Christian congregations, in a move that could bring some Holy Rolling, New World preaching styles to its venerable halls of stone and sacrament. — Robert Stevens, The Christian Science Monitor, "Church of England's outreach effort may mean end of 'snobbishness'," 5 July 2018 No word if Middleton, who was baptized as a child, also received a bracelet after receiving the sacrament. — Shannon Carlin, refinery29.com, "Meghan Markle Marked Her Baptism With Meaningful Bling," 11 Mar. 2018 One bishop from the U.S.-Mexico border region reportedly suggested 'canonical penalties' — which could refer to withholding the sacrament of Communion — for Catholics involved in implementing the Trump policies. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: GOP senator urges love for LGBT youths in Pride Month speech," 14 June 2018 The order uses the traditional Latin Liturgy of 1962 for masses and sacraments. — Ann Zaniewski, Detroit Free Press, "Past, future to be celebrated as St. Joseph Oratory host Mass Mob," 9 June 2018 The Archdiocese of Boston welcomes them to our parishes and the ministry of celebrating the sacraments, sharing the gift of faith and witnessing the loving, merciful presence of the Lord. — Elise Takahama, BostonGlobe.com, "Cardinal Sean O’Malley to ordain 7 priests for Boston Archdiocese," 18 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sacrament.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.