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; see cadenza

Explanation

An incident refers to a particular happening, sometimes criminal but always noteworthy. If there was a food fight in the cafeteria, an e-mail might be sent to the parents of all students telling of the incident at school. The word incident is quite vague. It can refer to a humorous occurrence or a violent one, something that disturbed one's routine or something unusual that happened. If a child screams in a library, it's not that unusual, but if an adult does, that's an incident! As an adjective, incident is used in the field of physics to describe particles or radiation that fall on a surface. The incident light showed how dirty the windows were.

Example Sentences

Davidson told Variety that he shouted other obscene language during the show that was all censored, and that he felt a “wave of shame” after the incident, removing himself from the ceremony.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026

According to the report, the call handler was "very emotional and upset" about the incident, but went on to withdraw from the investigation.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron said the incident was "unacceptable".

From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026

Independent councillor Janet Cleverly made the comments when she was reporting a fly-tipping incident to Newport City Council.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

Fortunately, the drawing of colors quickly followed, leaving no opportunity to reflect further on the incident.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

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