noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌɹaɪt‿əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/
General-American:/ˌɹaɪt‿əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/
General-American:[ˌɹaɪɾ‿əv-]
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -æsɪdʒ
1
noun
Meaning 1
A ceremony or series of ceremonies, often very ritualized, to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person's life to another.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: cultural anthropology
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rite de passage
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage in a person's life to another.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
Examples
After John officially attained his majority, Robert bought him his first beer. This is a common American rite of passage.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a ritual performed in some cultures at times when an individual changes status (as from adolescence to adulthood)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: ritual, rite
History
Etymology
From rite + of + passage, a calque of French rite de passage. The French term was coined by French ethnographer and folklorist Arnold van Gennep (1873–1957) and popularized in his work Les rites de passage (1909).
Across languages
Translations
31 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
طَقْس الْعُبُور
(ṭaqs al-ʕubūr)
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Chinese Mandarin:
成年禮 /成年礼
(chéngniánlǐ)
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Chinese Mandarin:
成年儀式 /成年仪式
(chéngnián yíshì)
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Danish:
overgangsrite
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Dutch:
rite de passage
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Dutch:
overgangsritueel
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Finnish:
siirtymäriitti
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
French:
rite de passage
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
German:
Passageritus
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
German:
Erwachsenwerden
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
German:
Initiation
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
German:
Initiationsritus
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
German:
Übergangsritual
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
German:
Übergangsritus
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Greek:
διαβατήρια τελετή
(diavatíria teletí)
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Hungarian:
beavatási rítus
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Hungarian:
beavatási szertartás
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Icelandic:
manndómsvígsla
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Italian:
rito di passaggio
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Japanese:
通過儀礼
(tsūka girei)
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Khmer:
សេចក្តីក្លាហានដួងនៃការអនុម័ត
(séchkteiklahanduŏngneykarʼânŭmôt)
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Norwegian:
overgangsrite
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Polish:
obrzęd przejścia
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Portuguese:
rito de passagem
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Russian:
обря́д посвяще́ния
(obrjád posvjaščénija)
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Scottish Gaelic:
deas-ghnàth inbhe
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Slovak:
prechodový rituál
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Spanish:
rito de paso
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Spanish:
rito de pasamiento
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Swedish:
övergångsrit
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
Thai:
พิธีกรรมเปลี่ยนผ่าน
— ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another
