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

It is embedded within the city’s historic Jackson Park, a decision that was met with legal battles as an environmental group sued the City of Chicago for allowing a private project to be built on public land. —Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 4 June 2026

While the Knicks have made a historic run behind Jalen Brunson, Oakley has been supporting the team from road arenas around the country. —Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 June 2026

But these suites are also closest to the elevators, and the historic walls don’t adequately muffle the sounds of other guests. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026

If Eguisheim's historic architecture isn't enough to lure you for a visit, the Alsace Wine Route, of which the destination is a part, might be. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 3 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