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 definition: well-known or important in history. See examples of historic used in a sentence.

Historic means ‘important or likely to be important in history’: … Authorities and meteorologists described the flooding as historic and the worst seen in the region apart from that spawned by …

Something that is historic is important in history, or likely to be considered important at some time in the future. King gave this historic speech the night before he was assassinated. ...a fourth …

Definition of historic adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Historic refers to that which is associated with significant events in history: the historic first voyage to the moon. Thus, a historic house is likely to be of interest not just because it is relatively old, …

Oct 23, 2025 · In present usage, however, a distinction is often made between the two: historic is used as an adjective for the study of history, while historical is used as an adjective for the …

There are six meanings listed in OED's entry for the word historic, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

May 11, 2025 · Historic describes events, objects, or places important to history, like Anne Frank's house. Historical refers to anything from the past, even if it's not important, like a soldier's …

Historic and historical are easy to confuse. Historic means 'having importance in history.' Historical means 'from the past' or 'relating to history.'