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

Getting snapped in an amazing off-duty look is practically a celebrity rite of passage—and for many, the best Alo leggings are a key to street style. —Andrea Navarro, Glamour, 20 Feb. 2025

For club kids, having a spiritual awakening on the dance floor is a rite of passage. —Puja Patel, The New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2025

It’s become one of the most important rites of passage in the book-publication process—more meaningful to some writers than a book party or book-cover reveal. —Jordan Michelman, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2024

What happened next was captured on camera by Mila in what was supposed to be a happy moment and rite of passage as a new parent. —Jack Beresford, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above