historic

historic — adjective

1. A historic event, achievement, or place is one that people remember or will reme

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

A historic event, achievement, or place is one that people remember or will remember over time because it marked a major change or had a very strong effect on the course of history.

Example

The historic peace agreement between the two countries ended decades of conflict.

attributive: historic + noun (agreement)

Takeshi visited several historic sites during his trip to Nara last autumn.

Common collocations
  • historic moment
  • historic event
  • historic agreement
  • historic site
  • historic landmark
  • historic building
  • historic decision
  • historic achievement
Synonyms
  • momentous

    More formal and emphatic; suggests an event of very far-reaching consequences (the momentous decision to go to war).

  • landmark

    Used only before a noun; emphasises a turning point or first of its kind (a landmark court case).

  • significant

    Broader and less weighty; can apply to anything important, not only historically important (a significant increase in sales).

  • groundbreaking

    Focuses on innovation and being the first achievement of its kind (a groundbreaking study on vaccines).

Antonyms
  • insignificant

    Opposite in terms of importance or lasting effect (an insignificant event that nobody remembers).

  • unimportant

    General opposite; not likely to be remembered or have influence.

Grammar Patterns

historic + noun (event/agreement/moment/building)

be/prove/become + historic

Usage Note

Frequently used before nouns such as moment, event, agreement, achievement, day, building, site, and landmark. Can also appear after linking verbs (be, prove, become) in a predicative position, e.g. 'The discovery was historic.' Do not confuse with historical, which means 'relating to the past or the study of history' rather than 'important in history.'

Common Mistakes

The meeting was a historical event that changed our country.
The meeting was a historic event that changed our country.
Historical means 'connected with the past'; historic means 'important enough to be remembered in history.'

2. Used to describe a crime or harmful act that someone committed many years ago bu

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

Used to describe a crime or harmful act that someone committed many years ago but that was never reported, investigated, or punished by the legal system at the time it happened.

Example

The police reopened the case after new evidence emerged about historic offences at the school.

attributive: historic + offences

Faisal was arrested for historic crimes that had gone unreported for more than thirty years.

Common collocations
  • historic offence
  • historic offences
  • historic crime
  • historic crimes
  • historic abuse
Synonyms
  • historical

    In legal contexts, historical and historic are sometimes used interchangeably for past offences, but historic is more precise to indicate the offence was not dealt with at the time.

Grammar Patterns

historic + offence/crime/abuse

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun (offence, abuse, crime). This sense appears primarily in British legal and journalistic contexts when discussing investigations into past wrongdoing that was never prosecuted at the time it occurred.

Common Mistakes

He has a historic criminal record from the 1990s.
He has historic offences from the 1990s that were never prosecuted.
Historic (sense 2) refers specifically to crimes not dealt with at the time they were committed, not just any old crime on a record.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Historic and historical are often confused. Historic (sense 1) describes something important enough to be remembered (a historic election). Historical simply means 'connected with the past or the study of history' (a historical novel, historical records). Momentous carries more dramatic weight and suggests consequences that will be felt for generations (a momentous decision to abolish slavery). Landmark is used only before a noun and highlights a clear turning point or precedent (a landmark ruling on privacy). In practice: a building can be historic (important and preserved) or historical (dating from a past period). A scientific breakthrough is historic; a museum is historical. Use momentous for gravity and landmark for precedents in law, business, or social change.

historic ↗historical ↗momentouslandmark ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • of historic importance
  • of historic significance

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Historic comes from Latin historicus (relating to history), which was borrowed from Greek historikos (historical, learned). The Greek root histōr meant 'a wise or learned person' or 'a judge.' The word entered English in the 16th century via French (historique). The distinct meaning 'important enough to be remembered' developed in the 18th century, gradually separating from the broader adjective historical.