rite of passage

noun

plural rites of passage

: a ritual, event, or experience that marks or constitutes a major milestone or change in a person's life

Rites of passage celebrate the social movement of individuals into and out of groups or into or out of statuses of critical importance to the individual and to the community. Reproduction, the achievement of manhood and womanhood, marriage, and death are the principal worldwide occasions for rites of passage.

—Marvin Harris

For them the two years of missionary work, with the rigorous bootcamp-style training preceding it, is a rite of passage between graduation and marriage, adolescence and adult life.

—Malise Ruthven

Today, when each year American society becomes more complex, a veritable tapestry of nationalities, the strongest of our common threads may well be the rites of passage all immigrants face.

—Harold Holzer

The author, grandson of the poet Allen Tate, dropped out of Sewanee University after going through the by-now familiar 1960's rite of passage of drugs, sex, and antiwar demonstrations …

—Caroline Seebohm

compare initiation rite

Examples of rite of passage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sipping a rum runner at the Pink Pony is also something of a Mackinac Island rite of passage. —Beth Luberecki, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024

In the world of academia, the pursuit of tenure is a baptism of fire to prove one’s research significance and serves as a rite of passage marking a major milestone in one’s career. —Ellen Choi, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

Warriors rookies, including Reece Beekman, Blake Hinson and Quinten Post, sang songs to the crowd as part of their rite of passage while Stephen Curry did introductions. —Jane Tyska, The Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2024

Today, some university communities use this practice as a rite of passage. —Bridgette Bartlett Royall, Essence, 15 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above