1. a Christian ceremony in which a person is immersed in or sprinkled with water as a sign of purification and admission to the Christian church
Usage: religious
2. a person’s first experience of a particular activity or situation, especially a difficult one
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The baby’s baptism will be held next Sunday at the church.
• She was baptized in the river by the pastor.
• The baptism ceremony was attended by family and friends.
• His first day as a teacher was a baptism by fire.
• The new employee’s baptism into company culture was challenging.
• The baptism took place during the morning service.
• Moving to a new country was her baptism into independence.