ancient history

noun

1
: the history of ancient times
2
: something from the past dismissed as no longer important or relevant to the present
regarding their former dispute as ancient history

Examples of ancient history in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The heady Thatcher era is ancient history, and in contemporary England, where the new novel winds up, all the fizz is gone. Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024 Morgan is a walking Wikipedia, citing local meteorological patterns and ancient history to help nail each week’s culprit. Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 13 Sep. 2024 Advertisement A little more than 16 months later, the questions about the future feel like ancient history. Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024 At the time, Gast was an undergraduate student studying classical archaeology and ancient history at the University of Oxford. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 25 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ancient history 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ancient history.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ancient history was in 1566

Dictionary Entries Near ancient history

Cite this Entry

“Ancient history.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ancient%20history. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on ancient history

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!