sacrament

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 My sister distributed sacrament all across the country. — Chris Rush, Harper's magazine, "Love and Acid," 19 Aug. 2019 In the end, helping her mother end her life felt like a sacrament. — Tara Bahrampour, Twin Cities, "Woman chose to end her life by not eating; daughter filmed last days," 4 Nov. 2019 In the end, helping her mother end her life felt like a sacrament. — Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post, "At 94, she was ready to die by fasting. Her daughter filmed it.," 4 Nov. 2019 Like the kind of thing Jesus would ask the disciples and hardheaded Peter would always get wrong. Fly and Brent were smoking up every Sunday before church now, like a regular sacrament. — Tiphanie Yanique, The New Yorker, "God’s Caravan," 28 Oct. 2019 Rastafarians view its use as a sacrament bringing them closer to God. — Kristin E. Holmes, chicagotribune.com, "Religious communities consider how much faith to put in marijuana," 26 Aug. 2019 Other parishes are more accepting of gay people and would not hold back this sacrament, Smolenski said. — Monica Haider, CNN, "Catholic diocese denies gay Michigan judge communion," 30 Nov. 2019 This Easter, Romero made her first Holy Communion and confirmation, sacraments that officially brought her into the fold. — Elaine Ayala, ExpressNews.com, "Mission Concepción loomed large in Romero’s Catholic conversion," 16 Nov. 2019 The 7 Swans A-swimming are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments. — Katie Bourque, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About the "12 Days of Christmas" Meaning," 30 Sep. 2019

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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about sacrament

Dictionary Entries near sacrament

Statistics for sacrament

Last Updated

16 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Sacrament.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sacrament. Accessed 17 January 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for sacrament

sacrament

noun