adjective
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famous or likely to become famous in history; significant
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a less common word for historical historical historical historical historical
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Also: secondary. linguistics (of Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit verb tenses) referring to past time
Usage
A distinction is usually made between historic (important, significant) and historical (pertaining to history): a historic decision; a historical perspective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of historic
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin historicus, from Greek historikós “historical, scientific,” from histor(ía) “inquiry” ( see history) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Something that's historic was important in its day and continues to be studied and remembered, like the historic integration of segregated schools and the historic March on Washington in 1963. When you describe something that's historic, it's either the first or the only of its kind. Historic moments are so important or momentous that they'll show up in history textbooks. A building can be historic, and so can a speech or a battle or a disaster. The root word is the Greek historia, "a learning by inquiry or history," although historic specifically means "important in history."
Vocabulary lists containing historic
Workshop 4, Part 1
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Because it's a historic town you don't want to see lots of base stations everywhere and people object to them, so planning permission is a problem," he added.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Nvidia’s stock is rising on Monday after the chip giant delivered a historic buyback announcement.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Hydee Feldstein Soto, who lost her seat in a historic primary rout this spring, new polling shows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Leo cruised down the famous boulevard on the popemobile before celebrating an open-air Mass in the Place de la Concorde, a historic first.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
A fortress since Roman times, it was an honored historic site associated with French military glories and national pride.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
