historic

adjective

his·​tor·​ic hi-ˈstȯr-ik 

-ˈstär-

: historical: such as

a

: famous or important in history

historic battlefields

b

: having great and lasting importance

a historic occasion

c

: known or established in the past

historic interest rates

d

: dating from or preserved from a past time or culture

historic buildings

historic artifacts

Did you know?

historic or historical?

Do you experience a slight pause before using either of these words as you try to remember which one is correct and whether it should be preceded by an or a? If so, you’re not alone, for many people find this pair particularly tricky. Historic and historical are both occasionally found preceded by an, since the initial h in each word was formerly left unpronounced. Now this h is heard, and a is far more common than an (by a ratio of about 4 to 1 in American English).

Historic and historical have been used interchangeably by many writers, even in recent years. If you would like to avoid being corrected, however, use historical for matters relating to history (the historical society), and historic to refer to things having great and lasting importance (a historic occasion).

Synonyms of historic

• major
• important
• significant
• big
• monumental

Examples of historic in a Sentence

It's wonderful to see so many people here on this historic occasion.

She returned safely from her historic flight into space.

The court made a historic decision last week.

They know of many historic volcanic eruptions in the area.

the historic importance of the river

Recent Examples on the Web

This is a historic moment for Ochoa and Team Mexico. —Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 25 June 2026

The former president and first lady, coming off the historic opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, are opening up about their lasting bond and time in the White House. —Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 24 June 2026

Honoring the whimsy and old-world charm of the historic hotel, the design is a confluence of both old and new. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 June 2026

Eloy Room stood tall in the face of it all to make the most saves in a 90-minute World Cup match to secure a historic point for Curacao. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 24 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for historic

• caloric
• dysphoric
• euphoric
• plethoric
• pyloric
• anaphoric
• metaphoric
• meteoric
• paregoric
• prehistoric
• pyrophoric
• boric

Kids Definition

historic

adjective

his·​tor·​ic his-ˈtȯr-ik 

-ˈtär-

1

: historical sense 1

2

: famous in history

historic events