1 [mass noun] the study of past events, particularly in human affairs:medieval European history
the past considered as a whole:letters that have changed the course of history
2the whole series of past events connected with a particular person or thing:the history of the Empirea patient with a complicated medical history
an eventful past:the group has quite a history
a past characterized by a particular thing:his family had a history of insanity
3a continuous, typically chronological, record of important or public events or of a particular trend or institution:a history of the labour movement
a historical play:Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, and tragedies
be history
be perceived as no longer relevant to the present:the mainframe is already history
informal used to indicate imminent departure, dismissal, or death:an inch either way and you’d be history
go down in history
be remembered or recorded in history:the 1981 Grand National has gone down in history as one of the most emotional races ever run
make history
do something that is remembered in or influences the course of history:the track where he made history thirty-five years ago
the rest is history
used to indicate that the events succeeding those already related are so well known that they need not be recounted again:they teamed up, discovered that they could make music, and the rest is history
