rite of passage
Americannoun
-
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.
-
any important act or event that serves to mark a passage from one stage of life to another.
noun
-
a ceremony performed in some cultures at times when an individual changes his status, as at puberty and marriage
-
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.
For a people nicknamed after a flightless bird, taking off overseas has somewhat ironically become a rite of passage for many New Zealanders.
From BBC
Currently, learning to tie a tie for secondary school is almost a rite of passage in the UK.
From BBC
"It's almost a rite of passage before they ditch you and go and have more fun with their friends," he jokes.
From BBC
The "ice facial" has become a social media rite of passage and is half beauty hack, half endurance challenge.
From BBC
It is almost a rite of passage for a successful England team to first suffer a chastening Calcutta Cup loss at Murrayfield.
From Barron's
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.
