rite

American  

[rahyt] / raɪt /

noun

• rites
  plural

1. a formal or ceremonial act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious or other solemn use.

   rites of baptism; sacrificial rites.

   Synonyms:

   usage, form, observance

2. a particular form or system of religious or other ceremonial practice.

   the Roman rite.

3. (often initial capital letter) a liturgy or liturgical system, especially one of the historical versions of the Eucharistic service.

   the Anglican Rite.

4. (sometimes initial capital letter) a division or differentiation of churches based on liturgical practice.

5. any customary observance or practice.

   the rite of afternoon tea.

---

rite British  

/ raɪt /

noun

1. a formal act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious ceremonies

   fertility rites

   the rite of baptism

2. a particular body of such acts or procedures, esp of a particular Christian Church

   the Latin rite

3. a Christian Church

   the Greek rite

---

Synonym Usage

See ceremony.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ritelessness
  noun
• riteless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rites
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of rite

1275–1325; Middle English (< Old French rit ( e )) < Latin rītus

---

Explanation

A rite is a ceremony or event that leads to a new phase of life, like high school graduation or a bat mitzvah. Rites are rituals. Religions in particular have many rites, which include celebrations and sacraments such as baptism or confession. But people also use this word for any kind of event that signifies moving through a stage of life. For a football player, getting your first touchdown is a "rite of passage." Even a job interview could be considered a rite — it's a traditional ritual, something everyone has to go through before landing a first job.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rite rites

Jess Douek, a singer who has chronic pain, has won funding to create Bristol's first fully-accessible grassroots music venue so emerging disabled artists aren't "locked out of that rite of passage".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

College student Zara Hawkins, 17, agrees attending feels like a rite of passage for teenagers in the UK, and she is "really excited" for her first time at Leeds Festival.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

For Ally Chiu, 27, a premium credit card was a rite of passage into adulthood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Getting bangs was a local rite of passage; even if they flopped, I’d be setting out on the same Hero’s Journey as most of my new neighborhood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 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

In the locker room before a high-school all-star game, I was initiated into the secular rites of the local public-school powerhouse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

It’s not easy to find analogies that can reanimate the importance of burial rites to a modern audience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Officials said DNA samples were taken from the bodies so that families could later claim them and perform traditional funeral rites.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

It made up for missed teenage rites of passage — the senior prom, the homecoming dance, the debutante ball — by doubling down on sentimentality.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

Always before, Jim and I had carried them into the mountains to bury them and to give them their last rites, a prayer over a rough wooden cross of birch twigs and twine.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• celebration
• custom
• formality
• liturgy
• observance
• occasion
• procedure
• ritual

---