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

And here’s today’s e-newspaper 3 things to know before the 2025 Oscars The 97th Academy Awards airs Sunday, wrapping up an Oscars season filled with historic firsts and controversy. —Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2025

Todos Santos itself is a historic mission town, but the wider region includes Pescadero, a burgeoning surf community, a short drive south. —Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 28 Feb. 2025

But this was just the tip of her experiential iceberg and is followed by a private tour of the famous monument, guided by Dr. PBS Sengar, former director of the Archeological Survey of India, the agency that maintains the nation’s historic sites, including the Taj Mahal. —Larry Olmsted, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025

Spend time walking the grounds of George Mason University, learn about the area’s rich past at historic sites, and take advantage of the town’s diverse and delicious dining scene. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for historic

• caloric
• dysphoric
• euphoric
• folkloric
• plethoric
• pyloric
• anaphoric
• metaphoric
• meteoric
• paregoric
• prehistoric
• pyrophoric

Kids Definition

historic

adjective

his·​tor·​ic his-ˈtȯr-ik 

-ˈtär-

1

: historical sense 1

2

: famous in history

historic events