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

The stores sell dresses for proms, special occasions and quinceañeras, a Latin American rite of passage celebrating a young girl’s 15th birthday and her transition to adulthood. —Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026

As someone now in the fifth decade of his career, Sting has accepted a rite of passage that all rock stars must undergo when on tour. —Devon Ivie, Vulture, 4 June 2026

The service Being hired at the Four Seasons is almost a rite of passage for budding Jordanian hoteliers who see this prestigious assignment as a stepping stone to some of the world’s other leading hotels. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

Summer jobs have been teenagers’ rite of passage for generations—from scooping ice cream and babysitting, to lifeguarding and bagging groceries. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above