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historic

adjective
his·​tor·​ic | \ hi-ˈstȯr-ik How to pronounce historic (audio) , -ˈstär-\

Definition of historic

: 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
Synonyms & Antonyms historic or historical? Example Sentences Learn More about historic

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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).

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
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Recent Examples on the Web

 That’s why the company is considering building a huge new plant on the historic Buick City site in Flint. — Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, "Jeep-like ATV looks like a toy — but Mahindra means business," 31 Aug. 2019 Just as Lil Nas X's debut hit is historic, its run also makes Cyrus unique in the history of Billboard's signature song and album charts. — Gary Trust, Billboard, "Ask Billboard: A Supersized Mailbag in Honor of Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus' Record Run Atop the Hot 100," 24 Aug. 2019 Take a tour of the Thunderbird Lodge, a national historic site built in 1936 by George Whittell Jr., who owned roughly 40,000 acres and 20 miles of Nevada shoreline at the time. — Agatha French, Orange County Register, "Lake Tahoe: The jewel of the Sierras shines bright," 21 Aug. 2019 After O’Rourke’s speech in Little Rock — which has drawn a striking 2.8 million views on Twitter — the former El Paso congressman visited a historic site in Oklahoma, which has voted for a Democrat for president once in the last 64 years. — Bill Lambrecht, ExpressNews.com, "Attacks on racism and Trump resonate for Texans Beto O’Rourke and Julián Castro," 20 Aug. 2019 That historic blockbuster was a game-changer beyond merely breaking all known sales records at The Bushnell, adding several thousand people to that theater’s subscriber base and already being announced for a return visit in the 2020-21 season. — Christopher Arnott, courant.com, "‘Hamilton’ may have been king, but this latest Connecticut theater season was one of bold concepts, big challenges," 14 Aug. 2019 These fees, which had grown exponentially in the last few years, created incentives for frivolous reviews unrelated to any potential impact on historic sites. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "Ajit Pai loses another court case as judges overturn 5G deregulation," 9 Aug. 2019 The draft license also includes an eight-page list of restrictions intended to protect the environment and historic sites. — James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, "Alaska announces plan to permit oil exploration near site of state’s first well," 8 Aug. 2019 Oregon’s jobless rate remains at 4%, a historic low, wages are rising and private sector employment continues to grow. — Hillary Borrud | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive.com, "Oregon taxpayers set to get a $1.6 billion ‘kicker’ rebate next year," 28 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'historic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of historic

1594, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for historic

historic

adjective
How to pronounce historic (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of historic

: famous or important in history
: having great and lasting importance
: happening or existing in the past

See the full definition for historic in the English Language Learners Dictionary

historic

adjective
his·​tor·​ic | \ hi-ˈstȯr-ik How to pronounce historic (audio) \

Kids Definition of historic

: famous in history

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More from Merriam-Webster on historic

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with historic

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for historic

Spanish Central: Translation of historic

Nglish: Translation of historic for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of historic for Arabic Speakers

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