incident

[ in-si-duhnt ]
See synonyms for incident on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an individual occurrence or event.

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

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

  2. something appertaining or attaching to something else.

  3. 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.

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

adjective
  1. likely or apt to happen (usually followed by to).

  2. naturally appertaining: hardships incident to the life of an explorer.

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

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

Origin of incident

1
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

synonym study For incident

1. See event.

Other words for incident

Other words from incident

  • in·ci·dent·less, adjective
  • non·in·ci·dent, noun, adjective

Words that may be confused with incident

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use incident in a sentence

  • Never did events of the utmost magnitude hinge on incidents so trivial to the community at large.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • Concurrence finds incidents or concomitants of a fact or event, something that by accident became connected with it.

    Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
  • Avoid, at all times, mentioning subjects or incidents that can in any way disgust your hearers.

  • But the battle was not won until one of those strange incidents happened that distinguish the Mutiny from all other wars.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • Out of these seven incidents, six are found, and found more than once, in the earlier forms of the Lancelot story.

    The Three Days' Tournament | Jessie L. Weston

British Dictionary definitions for incident

incident

/ (ˈɪnsɪdənt) /


noun
  1. a distinct or definite occurrence; event

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

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

  2. a public disturbance: the police had reports of an incident outside a pub

  3. the occurrence of something interesting or exciting: the trip was not without incident

adjective
  1. (postpositive foll by to) related (to) or dependent (on)

  2. (when postpositive, often foll by to) having a subsidiary or minor relationship (with)

  1. (esp of a beam of light or particles) arriving at or striking a surface: incident electrons

Origin of incident

1
C15: from Medieval Latin incidens an event, from Latin incidere, literally: to fall into, hence befall, happen, from in- ² + cadere to fall

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012