rite of passage

noun

1. Anthropology.,  a ceremony performed to facilitate or mark a person's change of status upon any of several highly important occasions, as at the onset of puberty or upon entry into marriage or into a clan.

2. any important act or event that serves to mark a passage from one stage of life to another.

rite of passage

/ rit də pɑsaʒ /

noun

1. a ceremony performed in some cultures at times when an individual changes his status, as at puberty and marriage

2. a significant event in a transitional period of someone's life

Word History and Origins

Origin of rite of passage¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Leaving home to go to university was once considered a rite of passage.

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His annual directors’ brunch became a rite of passage for young filmmakers and a prime networking opportunity for new directors.

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It’s intended to be a rite of passage itself.

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The separation of a president and the vice president looking to follow him into the Oval Office is a political rite of passage, though always a fraught and delicate one.

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But that tweenage rite of passage looks uncertain as the future of the chain hangs in the balance.

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