rite of passage
Americannoun
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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.
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any important act or event that serves to mark a passage from one stage of life to another.
noun
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a ceremony performed in some cultures at times when an individual changes his status, as at puberty and marriage
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a significant event in a transitional period of someone's life
Etymology
Origin of rite of passage
First recorded in 1955–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
A rite of passage to a career on Wall Street, working as a young investment banker has seen many of its vaunted perks scaled back over the years.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
The 40-day mourning period following a death is an important rite of passage for Muslims.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
Besides, being broke and having to pinch pennies in college is a rite of passage, right?
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
Our after-noon on the range made more sense to me as a rite of passage that might bring us closer by making us feel we’d endured something awful together.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
