bar mitzvah

1 of 2

noun

bar mitz·​vah bär-ˈmits-və 

often capitalized B&M

1

: a Jewish boy who reaches his 13th birthday and attains the age of religious duty and responsibility

2

: the initiatory ceremony recognizing a boy as a bar mitzvah

bar mitzvah

2 of 2

verb

bar mitzvahed; bar mitzvahing

transitive verb

: to administer the ceremony of bar mitzvah to

Examples of bar mitzvah in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Then Stone’s eye caught something else — not inside the safe, but on the shelf beside it: a red prayer book from his father’s bar mitzvah in 1978. —Corina Knoll, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025

At 83, Shrimpy’s prepping for his second bar mitzvah. —Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2025

Roughly 50 Jewish groups and synagogues — including the Temple, a Reform synagogue, steeped in civil rights history, where Mr. Ossoff had his bar mitzvah — signed a letter rebuking Mr. Ossoff and Senator Raphael Warnock for their votes. —Katie Glueck, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025

Lamar had everyone from middle schoolers on the dancefloor at a bar mitzvah to former Vice President Kamala Harris at the BET Awards quoting his single. —Scottie Andrew, CNN, 9 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Hebrew bar miṣwāh, literally, son of the (divine) law

First Known Use

Noun

1816, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1922, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bar mitzvah

1 of 2 noun

bar mitz·​vah bär-ˈmits-və 

often capitalized B&M

1

: a Jewish boy who on his 13th birthday reaches the age of religious duty and responsibility

2

: the ceremony recognizing a boy as a bar mitzvah

bar mitzvah

2 of 2 verb

bar mitzvahed; bar mitzvahing

: to administer the ceremony of bar mitzvah to

Etymology

Noun

from Hebrew bar miṣwāh, literally, "son of the (divine) law"