Definition of "rite of passage" []

• A ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person's life indicative of a transition from one stage to another, as from adolescence to adulthood. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It didn't harm Elizabeth – I'm sure of that – but during my freshman year of college, I partook in a rather pitiful rite of passage known as the collegiate one-night stand."
• "Never one to miss a shining moment in pinstripes, his aura is akin to Denzel Washington doing Broadway and delivering a show-stopping performance 180 nights a year; provided you include the postseason, which under Jeter’s leadership is an expected, annual pinstriped rite of passage in the Bronx."