Meaning & use
chapter of history
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Meanings
phrasecountablefigurative
a particular period or event in the past, thought of as one part of a longer story.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a chapter of history or several chapters of history. The plural is chapters of history.
Patterns
- a chapter of history
- a dark/sad/glorious chapter of history
- close a chapter of history
- begin a new chapter of history
The peace deal closed a painful chapter of history for both countries.
Her election opened a new chapter of history in the region.
Historians still argue about that troubled chapter of history.
phrasecountable
a written account of one period of the past, especially as one part of a longer book or study.
Grammar: Countable and used literally here: it names an actual section of writing about past events.
Patterns
- a chapter of history
- write a chapter of history
- a chapter of history about something
The final chapter of history covers the years after the war.
He wrote a short chapter of history about the city's founding.
Word forms
| plural | chapters of history |
|---|
Common combinations
- a dark chapter of history
- The war was a dark chapter of history that the country prefers not to discuss.
- close a chapter of history
- The apology finally closed a difficult chapter of history.
- open a new chapter of history
- The treaty opened a new chapter of history for the two nations.
- a glorious chapter of history
- Many see the moon landing as a glorious chapter of history.
- a forgotten chapter of history
- She has spent years researching a forgotten chapter of history.
Synonyms and how they differ
- period
- Neutral and factual; it names a stretch of time but does not suggest the story-like, dramatic feel that chapter of history carries.
- era
- Suggests a long, clearly defined age; a chapter of history can be much shorter, even a single event.
- episode
- Often used for one striking event within a longer story, so it is closer when the period is brief and dramatic.
Word family
- historic adjective
- important in history and likely to be remembered.
- historical adjective
- connected with the past or with the study of history.
- historian noun
- a person who studies or writes about the past.
Commonly confused: chapter of history or historical chapter?
chapter of history vs historical chapter
This describes a chapter in a book that deals with history, not a period of the past itself. Use chapter of history for the period, and historical chapter for the piece of writing.
Practice
The president said the agreement would open a new ______ for the region.
Choose one answer.
The fixed figurative phrase is 'a new chapter of history'. 'Chapter of histories' is wrong because the plural 'histories' does not fit this idiom, and the other options change the word order or add articles that break the phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chapter of history”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.