history

American  

[his-tuh-ree, his-tree] / ˈhɪs tə ri, ˈhɪs tri /

noun

histories plural

1. the branch of knowledge dealing with past events.

2. a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account; chronicle.

   a history of France;

   a medical history of the patient.

   Synonyms:

   annals, record

3. the aggregate of past events.

4. the record of past events and times, especially in connection with the human race.

5. a past notable for its important, unusual, or interesting events.

   a ship with a history.

6. acts, ideas, or events that will or can shape the course of the future; immediate but significant happenings.

   Firsthand observers of our space program see history in the making.

7. a systematic account of any set of natural phenomena without particular reference to time.

   a history of the American eagle.

8. a drama representing historical events.

   Shakespeare's comedies, histories, and tragedies.

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history British  

/ ˈhɪstrɪ, ˈhɪstərɪ /

noun

1. 1. a record or account, often chronological in approach, of past events, developments, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a history book

      a history play

2. all that is preserved or remembered of the past, esp in written form

3. the discipline of recording and interpreting past events involving human beings

4. past events, esp when considered as an aggregate

5. an event in the past, esp one that has been forgotten or reduced in importance

   their quarrel was just history

6. the past, background, previous experiences, etc, of a thing or person

   the house had a strange history

7. computing a stored list of the websites that a user has recently visited

8. a play that depicts or is based on historical events

9. a narrative relating the events of a character's life

   the history of Joseph Andrews

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history Idioms  

1. see ancient history; go down (in history); make history; (history) repeats itself.

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Synonym Usage

See narrative.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underhistory
  noun
• unhistory
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• histories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of history

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English historie, from Latin historia, from Greek historía “learning or knowing by inquiry, history”; derivative of hístōr “one who knows or sees; learned”; akin to wit ², video, Veda

Explanation

A history is a chronicle of events, like the history of the United States’ mission to put a man on the moon, or the world history class that you have to memorize all those dates for. History is a noun to describe past events, or an account of something, like the history of New York City. When you describe something as having a history, you’re implying it has an intriguing past. For example, a necklace that’s been passed down through generations has a history. But when you say something's history, what you mean is not that it no longer exists. Your fear of the water is history now that you know how to swim.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

history histories

“When I got the result it was the most exciting moment that I’d ever had in science in my life,” he recalled in a Caltech oral history interview in 1993.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Readers looking for a cultural history of Shanghai, however, will need to look elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

After tugging his short shot at history left of the hole, Herbert bent over in disappointment before composing himself to tap in.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The banker operated like a sphinx at the center of some of the most interesting and polarizing events in our history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The article covered the history of spirit rapping and included a signed confession from Maggie.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

They reached their conclusions after analyzing trading histories of more than 5,000 individual prediction market contracts on Polymarket and Kalshi between October 2025 and this February.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

Contemporary nations like Iran, Armenia, and Egypt can lay claim to being built on very old civilizations, but you could point out discontinuities and lapses in sovereignty in their histories that complicate the argument.

From Slate ● Jul. 4, 2026

AI is also helping breathe life into queer histories that have been little acknowledged or risk being erased.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

These can be misleading, often disagree, and mostly have fairly short histories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

With such kinds of histories of their parties and good jokes, did Lydia, assisted by Kitty’s hints and additions, endeavour to amuse her companions all the way to Longbourn.

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

Related Words

• account
• annals
• biography
• record
• relation
• story
• tale