In Christian belief and practice, a sacrament is a rite that mediates divine grace, constituting a sacred mystery. The root meaning of the Latin word sacramentum is to "make sacred". Views concerning both what rites are sacramental, and what it means for an act to be sacramental vary among Christian denominations and traditions.
The most conventional functional definition of a sacrament is that they are outward, visible signs that convey an inward, spiritual grace.