incident

noun
UK: /ˈɪnsɪdənt/
US: /ˈɪnsɪdənt/

  1. An event or occurrence, often unexpected or unpleasant.

    1. There was an incident at school today. [ ] [ ]
    2. The security team investigated the incident thoroughly to determine the cause. [ ] [ ]

  2. A specific event that is a breach of security or causes a disruption.

    1. The incident caused a lot of problems. [ ] [ ]
    2. Reporting every security incident is essential for maintaining system integrity. [ ] [ ]

  3. A political event that causes difficulties between two countries.

    1. This incident could cause a war. [ ] [ ]
    2. Diplomats worked hard to resolve the international incident peacefully. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

event situation matter occurrence case episode affair
incident adjective

  1. Occurring or liable to happen especially as a consequence or accompaniment.

    1. Taxes are incident to ownership. [ ] [ ]
    2. The company's expenses incident to the merger process were quite substantial. [ ] [ ]

  2. (of light or other radiation) falling on or striking something.

    1. Incident light is white. [ ] [ ]
    2. The amount of incident radiation affects the temperature of the surface. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "incident" in English means: An event or occurrence, often unexpected or unpleasant., A specific event that is a breach of security or causes a disruption., A political event that causes difficulties between two countries..

The phonetic transcription of "incident" is /ˈɪnsɪdənt/ in British English and /ˈɪnsɪdənt/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "incident": event, situation, matter, occurrence, case, episode, affair.

Example usage of "incident": "There was an incident at school today.". More examples on the page.