incident

American  

[in-si-duhnt] / ˈɪn sɪ dənt /

noun

1. an individual occurrence or event.

   Synonyms:

   happening

2. a distinct piece of action, or an episode, as in a story or play.

3. something that occurs casually in connection with something else.

4. something appertaining or attaching to something else.

5. an occurrence of seemingly minor importance, especially involving nations or factions between which relations are strained and sensitive, that can lead to serious consequences, as an outbreak of hostilities or a war.

   border incident; international incident.

6. an embarrassing occurrence, especially of a social nature.

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adjective

1. likely or apt to happen (usually followed byto ).

2. naturally appertaining.

   hardships incident to the life of an explorer.

3. conjoined or attaching, especially as subordinate to a principal thing.

4. falling or striking on something, as light rays.

incident British  

/ ˈɪnsɪdənt /

noun

1. a distinct or definite occurrence; event

2. a minor, subsidiary, or related event or action

3. a relatively insignificant event that might have serious consequences, esp in international politics

4. a public disturbance

   the police had reports of an incident outside a pub

5. the occurrence of something interesting or exciting

   the trip was not without incident

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adjective

1. related (to) or dependent (on)

2. having a subsidiary or minor relationship (with)

3. (esp of a beam of light or particles) arriving at or striking a surface

   incident electrons

Related Words

See event.

Other Word Forms

• incidentless adjective
• nonincident noun

Etymology

Origin of incident

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin incident- (stem of incidēns “a happening,” noun use of present participle of Latin verb incidere “to fall upon, befall”), equivalent to Latin in- in- ² + -cid- (combining form of cad- “fall”) + -ent- -ent; cadenza

Example Sentences

Officials do not currently believe that the incident was politically motivated or an act of terrorism but stemmed from an altercation in the crowd, according to L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

But while many protests were without incident, they were not short on anger and moments of tension.

From Los Angeles Times

The league said the incident occurred approximately 40 minutes after the game when Schroder sought out Doncic in a Crypto.com Arena hallway and initiated the confrontation.

From Los Angeles Times

Videos of the incident show ICE agents approaching a car which is in the middle of the street, and telling the woman behind the wheel to get out of the SUV.

From BBC

The club thanked medical staff stewards and nearby supporters for assisting during the incident, and said it would "ensure those involved receive the appropriate care".

From BBC

Related Words

• circumstance
• episode
• event
• fact
• matter
• scene