historic

adjective

his·​tor·​ic hi-ˈstȯr-ik 

-ˈstär-

: historical: such as

a

: famous or important in history

historic battlefields

b

: having great and lasting importance

a historic occasion

c

: known or established in the past

historic interest rates

d

: dating from or preserved from a past time or culture

historic buildings

historic artifacts

Did you know?

historic or historical?

Do you experience a slight pause before using either of these words as you try to remember which one is correct and whether it should be preceded by an or a? If so, you’re not alone, for many people find this pair particularly tricky. Historic and historical are both occasionally found preceded by an, since the initial h in each word was formerly left unpronounced. Now this h is heard, and a is far more common than an (by a ratio of about 4 to 1 in American English).

Historic and historical have been used interchangeably by many writers, even in recent years. If you would like to avoid being corrected, however, use historical for matters relating to history (the historical society), and historic to refer to things having great and lasting importance (a historic occasion).

Synonyms

• big
• consequential
• earth-shattering
• earthshaking
• eventful
• important
• major
• material
• meaningful
• momentous
• monumental
• much
• significant
• substantial
• tectonic
• weighty

Examples of historic in a Sentence

It's wonderful to see so many people here on this historic occasion.

She returned safely from her historic flight into space.

The court made a historic decision last week.

They know of many historic volcanic eruptions in the area.

the historic importance of the river

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2022, Times photographer Marcus Yam received the breaking news photography award for his sobering images of the U.S. departure from Afghanistan that captured the human cost of the historic change in the country. —Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024

The heyday of the town was in the Victorian era when many of its historic buildings were constructed. —Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 6 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

historic

adjective

his·​tor·​ic his-ˈtȯr-ik 

-ˈtär-

1

: historical sense 1

2

: famous in history

historic events