incident

[in-si-duhnt]

noun

1. an individual occurrence or event.

   Synonyms: happening

2. a distinct piece of action, or an episode, as in a story or play.

3. something that occurs casually in connection with something else.

4. something appertaining or attaching to something else.

5. an occurrence of seemingly minor importance, especially involving nations or factions between which relations are strained and sensitive, that can lead to serious consequences, as an outbreak of hostilities or a war.

   border incident; international incident.

6. an embarrassing occurrence, especially of a social nature.

adjective

1. likely or apt to happen (usually followed byto ).

2. naturally appertaining.

   hardships incident to the life of an explorer.

3. conjoined or attaching, especially as subordinate to a principal thing.

4. falling or striking on something, as light rays.

incident

/ ˈɪnsɪdənt /

noun

1. a distinct or definite occurrence; event

2. a minor, subsidiary, or related event or action

3. a relatively insignificant event that might have serious consequences, esp in international politics

4. a public disturbance

   the police had reports of an incident outside a pub

5. the occurrence of something interesting or exciting

   the trip was not without incident

adjective

1. related (to) or dependent (on)

2. having a subsidiary or minor relationship (with)

3. (esp of a beam of light or particles) arriving at or striking a surface

   incident electrons

Other Word Forms

• incidentless adjective
• nonincident noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of incident¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin incident- (stem of incidēns “a happening,” noun use of present participle of Latin verb incidere “to fall upon, befall”), equivalent to Latin in- in- ² + -cid- (combining form of cad- “fall”) + -ent- -ent; cadenza

Word History and Origins

Origin of incident¹

C15: from Medieval Latin incidens an event, from Latin incidere, literally: to fall into, hence befall, happen, from _in- ² + cadere to fall

Synonym Study

See event.

Example Sentences

South West Water said it had "co-operated fully with the Drinking Water Inspectorate from the outset of this incident to help in its investigations" and "we will reflect on this summons".

From BBC

Saturday's incident has resulted in a string of closures in the popular area known as the Northern Beaches.

From BBC

Jon Berry from Cadw said there were "40 to 50 incidents a year" of heritage crime at their sites and "in the low hundreds" across historical environments in Wales.

From BBC

The incident happened shortly after the full-time whistle of the match on 31 August, following a melee involving both sets of players and sparked by the Uruguayan.

From BBC

"I urge anyone who has information relating to either incident to contact us as soon as possible".

From BBC

Related Words

• circumstance 
• episode 
• event 
• fact 
• matter 
• scene