incident

The word “incident” means an event, especially one that is noteworthy, unpleasant, or disruptive. In plain terms, an event, often one that's unplanned or problematic.

“Incident” is pronounced IHN-sih-duhnt (/ˈɪnsɪdənt/ in IPA).

Here is “incident” used in a sentence: “Police were called to the scene after an incident outside the club.”

Depending on how it is used, “incident” can be a noun and an adjective.

The word “incident” comes from Latin. From Latin incidens, present participle of incidere, "to happen, befall," from in- + cadere, "to fall.".

“Incident” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Incident” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an event, especially one that is noteworthy, unpleasant, or disruptive.

An 'incident' is a single event, usually a specific one that is notable or troublesome — a security incident. 'Incidence' is the rate or frequency at which something occurs — the incidence of a disease. One counts a single happening; the other measures how often something happens across a group.

Not always, but it often carries a serious or negative undertone, referring to unpleasant or disruptive events — a violent incident, a diplomatic incident. Neutrally, it can simply mean a distinct event. Interestingly, the phrase 'without incident' means the very opposite: that nothing went wrong at all.

Examples include a minor traffic incident, a security incident at the airport, or 'the incident was reported to police'. The word marks a specific, self-contained event, usually one worth noting because it was unusual, unpleasant, or disruptive rather than an ordinary, routine part of the day.

It means something happened smoothly, with no trouble, disruption, or notable problems. For example, 'the flight landed without incident' means the journey was calm and uneventful. The phrase relies on the word's link to disturbance — an absence of incident signals that everything went as it should.