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

To get to the bottom of the mystery of the article’s spurious dating, Cade and a team of researchers from around the globe sifted through historic reports and observations of geomagnetic activity to set the record straight. — Mike McRae 15, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026

Yet their willingness to talk, listen, and imagine what had seemed impossible helped lay the groundwork for historic nuclear arms reductions. — Halla Tómasdóttir, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Also nearby is the historic Calamigos Ranch, home to shoots for Grey’s Anatomy, Love Is Blind, The Bachelorette, The Bachelor, Beverly Hills 90210, Rizzoli & Isles,The Biggest Loser and Wayne’s World 2. — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026

Some of the addresses listed in the criminal complaint match those of historic downtown corridor buildings such as the Cameo Theatre and the Roxie Theatre. — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 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