bar mitz·vah
bär-ˈmits-və 
variants
often Bar Mitzvah
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 mitzvahed; bar mitzvahing
: to administer the ceremony of bar mitzvah to
Examples of bar mitzvah in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Andrew Ridker, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
An elderly Iranian American man, who is Jewish, is being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on charges related to his trip to Israel 13 years ago to celebrate his son’s bar mitzvah, a family member told NBC News on Friday.
—Abigail Williams, NBC news, 8 Nov. 2025
There are exemptions to fasting that apply to children who have not completed their bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah and adults with medical conditions or those who are pregnant.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
For instance, in between Avi’s 2004 plane ride that starts the episode’s main arc and its last-second flash-forward to 2022, the premiere revels in the rapid wordplay of a gentile girlfriend meeting a vibrant Jewish family and the general tomfoolery of a jubilant bar mitzvah.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 22 Aug. 2025
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Noun
In other words, the stuff of much contemporary fiction, albeit from a Jewish perspective, featuring Jewish characters with uniquely Jewish preoccupations: a boy’s bar mitzvah speech, the state of Steven Spielberg’s foreskin.
—Andrew Ridker, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
An elderly Iranian American man, who is Jewish, is being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on charges related to his trip to Israel 13 years ago to celebrate his son’s bar mitzvah, a family member told NBC News on Friday.
—Abigail Williams, NBC news, 8 Nov. 2025
There are exemptions to fasting that apply to children who have not completed their bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah and adults with medical conditions or those who are pregnant.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
For instance, in between Avi’s 2004 plane ride that starts the episode’s main arc and its last-second flash-forward to 2022, the premiere revels in the rapid wordplay of a gentile girlfriend meeting a vibrant Jewish family and the general tomfoolery of a jubilant bar mitzvah.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bar mitzvah
Cite this Entry
“Bar mitzvah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bar%20mitzvah. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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"
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