rite of passage

noun

plural rites of passage

: a ritual, event, or experience that marks or constitutes a major milestone or change in a person's life

Rites of passage celebrate the social movement of individuals into and out of groups or into or out of statuses of critical importance to the individual and to the community. Reproduction, the achievement of manhood and womanhood, marriage, and death are the principal worldwide occasions for rites of passage.

—Marvin Harris

For them the two years of missionary work, with the rigorous bootcamp-style training preceding it, is a rite of passage between graduation and marriage, adolescence and adult life.

—Malise Ruthven

Today, when each year American society becomes more complex, a veritable tapestry of nationalities, the strongest of our common threads may well be the rites of passage all immigrants face.

—Harold Holzer

The author, grandson of the poet Allen Tate, dropped out of Sewanee University after going through the by-now familiar 1960's rite of passage of drugs, sex, and antiwar demonstrations …

—Caroline Seebohm

compare initiation rite

Examples of rite of passage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dealing with tough clients is practically a rite of passage in freelancing, small business, or customer service. —Sho Dewan, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024

Perry’s serves top Japanese cooking and sushi from one of the prettiest rooftops in DC, and its Sunday drag brunch is practically a District rite of passage. —Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Dec. 2024

Taking photos with Santa at the mall is a rite of passage for children, but that Christmas tradition is evolving. —Carlie Kollath Wells, Axios, 9 Dec. 2024

For elder Millennials and Generation X, a youthful infatuation with shrooms was practically a rite of passage. —Robert Johnson, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above