A rite is a formal ceremony or ritual that marks an important moment or transition in life. When you attend a wedding, a graduation, or a religious service, you're witnessing a rite: a structured event with specific actions, words, and meanings that a community recognizes as significant.

Different cultures and religions have their own rites. A bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah is a Jewish rite marking the transition to religious adulthood. A graduation ceremony is a rite celebrating educational achievement. Some rites welcome new members into a group, others mark the changing of seasons, and still others honor important life passages like birth, coming of age, marriage, or death.

The phrase rite of passage describes a ceremony that marks someone's movement from one stage of life to another. Getting your driver's license might feel like a modern rite of passage, even though it lacks the formal ceremony of traditional rites. What makes something a true rite is that it's recognized by a community as meaningful, follows certain customs or traditions, and marks something worth honoring together.