historically

adverb

his·​tor·​i·​cal·​ly hi-ˈstȯr-i-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈstär-

1

: in accordance with or with respect to history

a historically accurate account

2

: in the past

Historically, stagnant cities seldom have recovered …

—Jane Jacobs

Examples of historically in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When elections yield a divided government, with the White House held by one party and at least one chamber of Congress controlled by the other, the S&P 500 has historically posted higher average returns than under unified party control. — CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026

The Navy said that historically only about 35% of candidates attempting to join their ranks make it to graduation. — James Laporta, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2026

Democrats made gains in Cabarrus County Cabarrus is historically conservative, but Democrats closed the gap some in recent elections as Charlotte’s growth bled into the county. — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 4 Nov. 2026

In Liu’s view, the pirate leader defies nearly every stereotype historically placed on Asian women in storytelling. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1