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

Travelers can explore the historic city with its charming shops and delicious local cuisine. —Spain Tourism, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2025

Trump framed a pardon as an opportunity to further stabilize Israel after the country recently signed onto a historic though fragile peace deal suspending a three-year-long war with Hamas, and secured the release of all living hostages from the terrorist group in Gaza. —Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 12 Nov. 2025

Pampered Hollywood executives and A-list directors will also likely be seduced by Georgia’s famously warm hospitality culture — including historic villas converted into high-end lodgings. —Dan Bilefsky, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2025

The historic Silver Spring House closed in 2019. —Steven Martinez, jsonline.com, 12 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for historic

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

Kids Definition

historic

adjective

his·​tor·​ic his-ˈtȯr-ik 

-ˈtär-

1

: historical sense 1

2

: famous in history

historic events