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

One could, and should, argue that the historic NCAA sanctions were rash and radical and wrong and regrettable. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024

But his music and his politics aside, the show-stealer on Tuesday night was the same individual who stole a little bit of Hozier’s thunder by gushing about his historic hit before the sun had gone down: Allison Russell. —Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2024

The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would restrict the video app TikTok, a historic development in government regulation of social media that's on track to quickly become law. —USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024

But federal regulators were slow to relax the rules that said these historic replicas had to meet current safety standards, so the revival of the DMC-12—with its lack of airbags, a third brake light, and antilock brakes, for instance—never happened. —Kathy Gilsinan, WIRED, 24 Apr. 2024

By around 10:30 as lightning pierced the dark skies and torrential rains flooded the historic city’s streets, Barnett still hadn’t shown. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024

Founded in 1903, the historic look of the town square was reportedly a big draw for the production. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 24 Apr. 2024

The proceedings are also occurring alongside the historic criminal trial involving Trump taking place in Manhattan, where he is charged with 34 state felony counts for falsifying business records. —Robert Legare, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2024

When 520 Fifth opens next year in Manhattan, due to be the tallest residential tower on Fifth Avenue, residents will live in a classic-luxe property that takes cues from such nearby historic buildings as the New York Public Library and Grand Central Station. —Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 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