rite of passage Hear it!

rite of passage definition

rite of passage

  1. a ceremony, often religious, marking a significant transition in a person's life, as birth, puberty, marriage, or death
  2. an event, achievement, etc. in a person's life regarded as having great significance
Also rite de passage rite de pas·sage′ (rēt də pä sȧz̸h)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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