ENGLISH
REFERENCE

in history

prep. phr..
A2 Elementary Oxford

prep. phr.. used to describe something that has ever happened or existed in the past.

prep. phr.. a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial or adjectival modifier to indicate the entire recorded past as a temporal frame.


SIMPLE

This is the hottest summer in history.

CONTEXTUAL

She is considered one of the most successful athletes in history after winning ten gold medals.

COMPLEX

The collapse of the empire was a turning point in history that reshaped the political landscape of the entire continent for centuries.

Usage

often follows superlative adjectives like 'the best', 'the biggest', or 'the first'.

Teaching tip

help students distinguish between 'in history' (the whole past) and 'in the history of' (specific to one subject, like 'in the history of art').

Pitfall

the best player of historythe best player in historyEnglish uses the preposition 'in' rather than 'of' when referring to the total record of the past.

© 2026 English Reference