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

There’s no formal degree required, though playing college football is often a rite of passage. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 15 Jan. 2026

The gathering was part of Rumspringa, the rite of passage that allows community members to experience life beyond their typical conservative traditions prior to officially joining the church. —Staff Author, PEOPLE, 14 Jan. 2026

This was a genuine rite of passage. —Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026

While spring cleaning and deep cleaning are rites of passage in Southern homes, keeping things tidy in between requires a little elbow grease. —Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 6 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above