1
a
: a prescribed form or manner governing the words or actions for a ceremony
b
: the ceremonial practices of a church or group of churches
2
: a ceremonial act or action
initiation rites
3
: a division of the Christian church using a distinctive liturgy
Synonyms
Examples of rite in a Sentence
Incense is often burned in their religious rites.
the annual summer rite of loading up the car for the big family vacation
Recent Examples on the Web
Funeral rites will take place until Thursday across Tabriz—the largest city close to the crash site near the Iranian-Azerbaijani border—and Qom, Tehran, and Birjand, before Raisi is buried at the Imam Reza Shrine in his birthplace of Mashhad.
—
Armani Syed, TIME, 21 May 2024
Recommended For much of human history, the issues of death and dying have been predominantly handled though religion and rites of organized faith.
—Jasper Davidoff, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for rite 
Armani Syed, TIME, 21 May 2024
Recommended For much of human history, the issues of death and dying have been predominantly handled though religion and rites of organized faith.
—Jasper Davidoff, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for rite
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Rite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rite. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rite
noun1
a
: a fixed form for a ceremony
b
: the ceremonial practices of a church or group of churches
2
: a ceremonial act or action
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