a solemn ceremony held in the synagogue, usually on Saturday morning, to admit as an adult member of the Jewish community a Jewish boy 13 years old who has successfully completed a prescribed course of study in Judaism.
the boy participating in this ceremony.
the occasion, ceremony, or celebration of that event
the boy himself on that day
1860–65; < Biblical Aramaic bar son + Hebrew miṣwāh divine law, commandment
How does bar-mitzvah compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
You usually go there for something—a birthday, a bar mitzvah, a special family Saturday-afternoon outing.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Despite the success, he was ousted from Columbia when the company accused him of using company funds to pay for personal expenses, including his son's bar mitzvah.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Jacobs: I started my first business when I was 23 years old in 1979 with $5,000 left over from my bar mitzvah money, and that business grew to a billion dollars.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
Bandel came with his entire family to celebrate his grandson's upcoming bar mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ritual.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
“Anywhere. I’d wear this to school, the grocery store, to a bar mitzvah, I don't care.”
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
Howard Youngerwood, 79, from London, travelled to Israel earlier this month for his granddaughter's Bar Mitzvah.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025
WINNER: Cooper Raiff, “Cha Cha Real Smooth” “A young man who works as a Bar Mitzvah party host strikes up a friendship with a mother and her autistic daughter.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
There she created characters such as Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy and Dawn Lazarus, an anxious meteorologist.
From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2022
Her son prepared for his Bar Mitzvah at their kitchen table instead of a synagogue.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2021
She could be coerced into attending a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, but otherwise her Shabbat was a big dinner.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
