Meaning & use
an incident
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Meanings
nouncountable
a single event, especially one that is unusual, unpleasant, or violent.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an incident', 'two incidents', 'several incidents'.
Patterns
- a serious/minor incident
- an incident involving someone/something
- without incident
Police are investigating a serious incident at the train station last night.
The flight landed safely without incident.
There was a small incident in the classroom, but the teacher handled it quickly.
nouncountableformal
a situation or event that is part of a larger series or story.
Grammar: Often used in formal or written contexts to refer to a specific moment in a sequence.
Patterns
- a minor incident in something
- an incident in the history of something
That argument was just a minor incident in their long friendship.
The book describes an incident from the war that changed his life.
Word forms
| plural | incidents |
|---|
Common combinations
- a serious incident
- The company reported a serious incident involving a chemical leak.
- without incident
- The protest ended without incident.
- an isolated incident
- Officials called the attack an isolated incident.
- a minor incident
- He was late because of a minor incident on the road.
Synonyms and how they differ
- event
- Event is a general word for anything that happens; incident often suggests something unusual or unpleasant.
- occurrence
- Occurrence is more formal and neutral; it does not carry the hint of trouble that incident often does.
- episode
- Episode often refers to a single event within a longer series, like in a story or illness.
Word family
- incidental adjective
- Happening as a minor part of something else; not the main thing.
- incidentally adverb
- Used to add a remark that is not directly related to the main subject.
Commonly confused: an incident or accident? an incident or incidence?
an incident vs accident
An accident is usually unintentional and often causes damage or injury; an incident can be deliberate or not, and may not cause harm.
an incident vs incidence
Incidence means how often something happens (e.g., the incidence of disease); an incident is a single event.
Practice
The police said the fight was a(n) ______ incident and not part of a larger problem.
Choose one answer.
'Isolated incident' is a common fixed phrase meaning a single event not connected to others. 'Lonely' describes a person feeling sad, 'alone' means without others, and 'single' is possible but less natural here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “an incident”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.