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 …

Historic means ‘important or likely to be important in history’: … It is also the case that historic preservation virtually never operates this way either. He also undertakes an innovative survey of …

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

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 historic …

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, but because …

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 events of the past.

HISTORIC meaning: 1 : famous or important in history; 2 : having great and lasting importance

Historical is used as the general term for describing history, such as 'the historical record,' while historic is now usually reserved for important and famous moments in history, such as 'a historic battle.'

When you describe something that's historic, it's either the first or the only of its kind. Historic moments are so important or momentous that they'll show up in history textbooks.