rite of passage

American  

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.

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rite of passage British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of rite of passage

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rite of passage

"They were just going over to have a bit of fun and just doing the rite of passage that every, you know, child or teenager does. So that outcome was just devastating."

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

It was a wistful and exciting moment, a rite of passage for many privileged middle-class parents around this time of year.

From Salon ● May 31, 2026

Meeting the pope has become a rite of passage for a new generation of tech leaders, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Cohere’s Aidan Gomez and top officials from OpenAI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

This summer, Harry Potter: A Hogwarts Express Adventure will open at the Southern California Railway Museum for guests to experience the Wizarding World rite of passage aboard a real moving train in the Inland Empire.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

No one accompanies him on this legal rite of passage, and when he steps out of the room no one is waiting to commemorate the moment with flowers and Polaroid snap-shots and balloons.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri