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

Following the parade, Mamdani will host a championship ceremony at City Hall where the team will receive Keys to the City, a recognition in honor of their historic achievement. —Mark Morales, CNN Money, 18 June 2026

California State Parks will offer a special free version of its Historian Passport, which normally costs $50 and allows guests to visit historic parks an unlimited number of times. —Noe Padilla, USA Today, 18 June 2026

The Depot and the Moline are two pieces of an ambitious project, led by developer SomeraRoad, to rehab historic buildings with new apartments while improving public spaces and bringing in new businesses. —Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026

Like many other homeowners on the West Side, Simmons has yet to receive help from the city since 2023's historic storms to make repairs from flood damage. —Marissa Perlman, CBS News, 17 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