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

What happened next was captured on camera by Mila in what was supposed to be a happy moment and rite of passage as a new parent. —Jack Beresford, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025

Binge drinking, once seen as a rite of passage, is now viewed as anxiety-producing. —Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Feb. 2025

For the first time in modern history, our faith in this rite of passage seems to be collapsing. —Matthew Scogin, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

The day was always meant to be an emotional and intimate rite of passage shared with close family and friends. —Shradha Shahani, Vogue, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above