a solemn ceremony, chiefly among Reform and Conservative Jews, that is held in the synagogue on Friday night or Saturday morning to admit formally as an adult member of the Jewish community a girl 12 to 13 years old.
the girl participating in this ceremony.
the date of, or, in some congregations, a ceremony marking, this event
the girl herself on that day
From Hebrew bath miṣwāh literally, “daughter of the divine law”
How does bat-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.
There are scenes of Jewish holidays, birthdays, a bat mitzvah, a student recital and a medical scare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
My kid has her bat mitzvah in February.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 26, 2025
June, for a bat mitzvah scene you memorized a complicated Torah portion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
If it’s your niece’s bat mitzvah, it’s suddenly like: Are you supposed to give $18,000 instead of $360?
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
Aimee’s family had already sold their house, so for the weekend of the bat mitzvah they got to stay in the Drake Hotel.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
When she turned 11, Chishti’s parents told her she would have two coming-of-age ceremonies — a Bat Mitzvah and one where she recited the Shahada — the Muslim profession of faith.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2024
Last year, Sandler's lucrative relationship with Netflix also saw him write, produce and voice animation Leo; and appear in and produce comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2024
Adam Sandler sparked a nepo-baby debate for casting daughters Sunny and Sadie in ‘You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2023
It's interesting that you bring that up because I actually had somebody call me who's very close to me and said, "Are you a little worried about opening with the Bat Mitzvah?"
From Salon ● May 5, 2023
“The institution of Bat Mitzvah had been born without incident.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2022
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.
