history

American  

[his-tuh-ree, his-tree] / ˈhɪs tə ri, ˈhɪs tri /

noun

• histories
  plural

1. the branch of knowledge dealing with past events.

2. a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account; chronicle.

   a history of France;

   a medical history of the patient.

   Synonyms:

   annals, record

3. the aggregate of past events.

4. the record of past events and times, especially in connection with the human race.

5. a past notable for its important, unusual, or interesting events.

   a ship with a history.

6. acts, ideas, or events that will or can shape the course of the future; immediate but significant happenings.

   Firsthand observers of our space program see history in the making.

7. a systematic account of any set of natural phenomena without particular reference to time.

   a history of the American eagle.

8. a drama representing historical events.

   Shakespeare's comedies, histories, and tragedies.

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history British  

/ ˈhɪstrɪ, ˈhɪstərɪ /

noun

1. 1. a record or account, often chronological in approach, of past events, developments, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a history book

      a history play

2. all that is preserved or remembered of the past, esp in written form

3. the discipline of recording and interpreting past events involving human beings

4. past events, esp when considered as an aggregate

5. an event in the past, esp one that has been forgotten or reduced in importance

   their quarrel was just history

6. the past, background, previous experiences, etc, of a thing or person

   the house had a strange history

7. computing a stored list of the websites that a user has recently visited

8. a play that depicts or is based on historical events

9. a narrative relating the events of a character's life

   the history of Joseph Andrews

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history Idioms  

1. see ancient history; go down (in history); make history; (history) repeats itself.

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Synonym Usage

See narrative.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underhistory
  noun
• unhistory
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• histories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of history

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English historie, from Latin historia, from Greek historía “learning or knowing by inquiry, history”; derivative of hístōr “one who knows or sees; learned”; akin to wit ², video, Veda

Explanation

A history is a chronicle of events, like the history of the United States’ mission to put a man on the moon, or the world history class that you have to memorize all those dates for. History is a noun to describe past events, or an account of something, like the history of New York City. When you describe something as having a history, you’re implying it has an intriguing past. For example, a necklace that’s been passed down through generations has a history. But when you say something's history, what you mean is not that it no longer exists. Your fear of the water is history now that you know how to swim.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

history histories

“Talking about who we are, our identity, our culture, our history and saying that we are here and we exist is political.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The practice of “early shoves” has a long history within the FAA’s air-traffic unit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The impressive visual fidelity has been attributed to the amount of time Rockstar has spent working on the game, and its budget, which is thought to be among the most expensive in video game history.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

During the war, he baffled international negotiators with rambling diatribes on Serbian history.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

‘He might be the person you write about for the history project.’

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

But he and Talley aren’t the only former Collins employees with questionable histories.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

Although the asset class has generally cut its gross positioning and reduced its leverage, Goldman finds that exposure is still elevated relative to longer histories.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

As the south of England continues to enjoy an unusually warm and dry summer, parch marks on lawns across the region have revealed the hidden histories of their location.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

The local-device tool doesn’t maintain or share extensive query histories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

She liked to listen to histories, the longer the better, and her favorites were written by a man named Ulrich Bonnell Phillips.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Related Words

• account
• annals
• biography
• record
• relation
• story
• tale