history

Study(35)

/ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/

noun 5verb 1

Collocations

(noun.) the past, especially as a subject of study

ADJ

contemporary, early, recent

The museum's exhibition focuses on the contemporary history of our city over the last fifty years.

ancient, medieval, modern | local | family | British, world, etc.

official

The official history taught in schools sometimes leaves out important details about what really happened.

recorded

People have told stories about heroes for as long as recorded history exists.

oral

My grandmother shared her oral history of life during the war with our family.

art, church, cultural, economic, human, literary, military, political, social, etc.

QUANT

piece

That discovery was a remarkable piece of history that changed how we understand ancient civilizations.

VERB + HISTORY

be steeped in

The old cathedral was steeped in history, with centuries of stories hidden in its ancient walls.

go down in, make, pass into

The invention of the internet will go down in history as one of humanity's greatest achievements.

trace

My family traces its history back to a small village in Ireland.

distort, rewrite

The government tried to distort history by removing certain facts from school textbooks.

HISTORY + VERB

go back (to)

Their family's connection to this region goes back several generations.

reveal sth, show sth

History reveals that people have always been fascinated by ancient civilizations and their mysteries.

repeat itself

The company made the same mistakes again, and history repeated itself.

HISTORY + NOUN

book

The invention of the telephone is an important event in history books.

PREP

during sth's ~

Many famous inventions were created during the course of human history.

in (sth's) ~

The invention of the internet stands as one of the greatest technological advances in history.

throughout ~

People have celebrated music and dance throughout history in almost every culture.

PHRASES

change the course of history

The invention of the internet changed the course of history forever.

a period of history

During the medieval period of history, most people in Europe lived in small villages.

the rest is history

a sense of history

The old town's architecture gave visitors a real sense of history.

a slice of history

The moon landing was truly a slice of history that changed humanity forever.

(noun.) facts about sb/sth's life/existence in the past

ADJ

chequered, colourful, fascinating, interesting, rich

Jazz music has a fascinating history that shaped American culture forever.

long

The company has a long history of producing high-quality furniture.

previous, subsequent

case

The doctor reviewed the patient's medical history before starting treatment.

employment, family, life, medical, personal, sexual

The job application asked about my employment history for the past ten years.

VERB + HISTORY

have

PREP

~ of

Her grandfather had a long history of working in agriculture before he retired.

(noun.) sth in the past that is no longer important

ADJ

past

We don't need to discuss what happened yesterday—that's past history.

Definitions

noun

The aggregate of past events.

History repeats itself if we don’t learn from its mistakes.

He dreams of an invention that will make history.

The empirical study of past events, as distinct from literature, myth, or scripture; the assessment of notable events.

He teaches Latin American history at the university and publishes books about the Cold War.

History and experience act as a filter that can distort as much as elucidate. It is largely forgotten now, overlooked in the one-line description of Tony Blair and George W Bush as the men who lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but there was a wider context to their conviction.

The portion of the past that is known and recorded by this field of study, as opposed to all earlier and unknown times that preceded it (prehistory).

in all of human history and prehistory

in all recorded history

A set of events involving an entity.

a long and sordid history

What is your medical history?

A record or narrative description of past events.

I really enjoyed Shakespeare's tragedies more than his histories.

a short history of post-Columbian colonization

verb

To narrate or record.

And therefore will hee wipe his Tables cleane, And keepe no Tell-tale to his Memorie, That may repeat, and Historie his losse

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a record or narrative description of past events

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

history repeats itself

Things that have happened in the past will or tend to happen again in one way or another.

If it be true that history repeats itself, then assuredly a narrative of domestic trials, of political emergencies, and of religious animosities can never be out of date, since men

the rest is history

One does not need to continue narrating a story as the subsequent events are assumed to be well-known.

Sarah and I got married back in 1956 and the rest is history.

ancient history

A period of history generally seen as occurring before the Middle Ages, that is, before the fall of the Roman Empire. Includes Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

make history

To do something that will be widely remembered for a long time.

Neil Armstrong made history in 1969 when he was the first person to walk on the Moon.

on the wrong side of history

Having policies or practices that are perceived as not progressive or enlightened; behaving in a manner that reflects out-of-date or disapproved opinions.

Washington reporters . . . were seen by the president's people as on the wrong side of history—both technologically and politically.

Example Bank

History repeats itself if we don’t learn from its mistakes.

Wiktionary

He dreams of an invention that will make history.

Wiktionary

With some of it on the south and more of it on the north of the great main thoroughfare that connects Aldgate and the East India Docks, St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest

Wiktionary

And therefore will hee wipe his Tables cleane, And keepe no Tell-tale to his Memorie, That may repeat, and Historie his losse

Wiktionary

How come you know so much about Japanese history?

Tatoeba · #6041

Your speech will be recorded in history.

Tatoeba · #17301

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, history is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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