event

American  

[ih-vent] / ɪˈvɛnt /

noun

1. something that happens or is regarded as happening; an occurrence, especially one of some importance.

   Synonyms:

   circumstance, case, affair, happening

2. the outcome, issue, or result of anything.

   The venture had no successful event.

   Synonyms:

   consequence

3. something that occurs in a certain place during a particular interval of time.

4. Physics. in relativity, an occurrence that is sharply localized at a single point in space and instant of time.

5. Sports. any of the contests in a program made up of one sport or of a number of sports.

   The broad jump event followed the pole vault.

---

idioms

1. in the event of, if there should be.

   In the event of rain, the party will be held indoors.

2. in any event, regardless of what happens; in any case. Also at all events.

3. in the event that, if it should happen that; in case.

   In the event that I can't come back by seven, you can eat without me.

event British  

/ ɪˈvɛnt /

noun

1. anything that takes place or happens, esp something important; happening; incident

2. the actual or final outcome; result (esp in the phrases in the event, after the event )

3. any one contest in a programme of sporting or other contests

   the high jump is his event

4. philosophy

   1. an occurrence regarded as a bare instant of space-time as contrasted with an object which fills space and has endurance

   2. an occurrence regarded in isolation from, or contrasted with, human agency Compare act

5. regardless of circumstances; in any case

6. in case of; if (such a thing) happens

   in the event of rain the race will be cancelled

7. if it should happen that

---

verb

1. to take part or ride (a horse) in eventing

event More Idioms  

1. see blessed event; in any case (event); in case (in the event); in the unlikely event.

---

Related Words

Event, episode, incident, occurrence are terms for a happening. An event is usually an important happening: historical events. An episode is one of a series of happenings in a person's life or in a narrative: an episode in one's life. An incident is an event of usually minor importance: an amusing incident in a play. An occurrence is something that happens, often by surprise: His arrival was an unexpected occurrence.

Other Word Forms

• eventless
  adjective
• superevent
  noun

Etymology

Origin of event

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin ēventus “occurrence, outcome,” equivalent to ēven(īre) “to come out, fall out, occur” + -tus suffix of verbal action

Explanation

An event is something that happens, or might happen. In the event that you get stuck in traffic, the wedding will continue. It is too important an event to wait even for someone as important as you. When something is eventful, many things happen during it. In a detective story, a protagonist can protect himself by mailing an envelope to the police to be opened "in the event of his death." In the novel White Noise, Don DeLillo describes an Airborne Toxic Event, both predicting and mocking the disasters of our time.

Example Sentences

The Met Gala hasn’t always been a capital-E Event.

From Salon • May 5, 2026

In a video shared on Instagram by Elite Event Robotics, a business that rents human-like robots for events, a child-sized robot could be seen dancing at a Southwest Airlines gate.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Upon a Termination Event, any of the Parties’ unused embryos shall continue to be stored and neither Party shall use the embryos for any purpose without the written consent of the other Party.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Event director Prof Katharine Craik said the festival was for everybody.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

As the Tunguska Event and Meteor Crater, Arizona, also remind us, not all impact catastrophes occurred in the early history of the solar system.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• accident
• act
• action
• affair
• appearance
• business
• case
• celebration
• ceremony
• circumstance
• crisis
• development
• episode
• experience
• fact
• holiday
• incident
• matter
• occasion
• situation