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

Many in the village are excited for the apprehensive Spike, as this is a rite of passage, but Jamie is reminded by a woman at the gate on their way out that 14 or 15 is the typical age for this experience. —Mark Meszoros, Boston Herald, 19 June 2025

For most teenagers, graduating from high school is a rite of passage that marks one of their first steps into adulthood. —Johnny Dodd, People.com, 15 June 2025

This conversation, passed down through generations, is a rite of passage in Black families. —Conial Caldwell Jr, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 2025

The only aim for riders is to complete the challenge, and doing so is a rite of passage. —Gregory Wakeman, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above