incident
/ˈɪnsɪdənt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.54 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An event that causes or may cause an interruption or a crisis, such as a workplace illness or a software error.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
An event that causes or may cause an interruption or a crisis, such as a workplace illness or a software error.
Countable; Uncountable
adj
Falling on or striking a surface.
adj
Coming or happening accidentally; not in the usual course of things; not in connection with the main design; not according to expectation; casual; fortuitous.
Example Sentences
- "She could not recall the time of the incident."
- "It was an incident that he hoped to forget."
- "The suspect was released without further incident."
- "Where else in the world can you pre-order sushi and fondue on some of the trains, travel in family carriages equipped with mini-playgrounds, or use a request stop button at some small stations? Where else can you hear the announcement: "The train at Platform 4 is ten minutes late due to an incident in another country," as I did once at the Swiss station of Spiez?"
- "No major hazards incident to this job."
- "It is at this juncture that Toder launches into the familiar and troubling topic of monogamy versus non-monogamy. She outwardly expresses no preference for either option, considering each to hold certain consequences incident to it."
Etymology
Recorded since 1412, from Middle French incident, from Latin incidens, the present active participle of incidō (“to happen, befall”), itself from in- (“on”) + -cidō, the combining form of cadō (“to fall”).
Word Breakdown
- Root: *ḱh₂d-