incidentin‧ci‧dent /ˈɪnsɪdənt/ ●●○ W3 AWL noun [countable] 
Am I at risk because of some incident in my sexual past? Roads were sealed off because of a major incident.without incident The plane landed without incident.► see thesaurus at eventRegisterIncident is used mainly in journalism or in formal contexts. In everyday English, people usually say something happened rather than talking about an incident:· Am I at risk because of something that happened in my past?2a serious disagreement between two countries: You could have caused a major diplomatic incident.COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa serious incident· The road is closed following a serious incident earlier today.a major incident (=very serious)· The most recent major incident was an explosion at an oil refinery.a small/minor incident· An apparently minor incident sparked off rioting.the whole incident· The whole incident was caught on CCTV.a separate incident· Young men were killed in two separate incidents on the same day.a related incident (=connected to another incident)· The report describes a number of related incidents.an isolated incident (=one that happens on its own, not together with others)· Luckily the attack turned out to be an isolated incident.the latest incident (=the most recent one)· In the latest incident a post office was broken into.a dramatic incident (=unexpected and exciting)· Viewers watched the dramatic incident on the television news.a violent incident· There have been several violent incidents at football matches recently.a tragic incident (=one that involves someone’s death)· Andrew’s father was lost at sea in this tragic incident.an unfortunate incident (=involving an accident or argument)· Disciplinary action may be taken over this unfortunate incident.an embarrassing incident· He left after an embarrassing incident in the bar.a strange/unusual incident· Any unusual incidents should be reported to the police.a shooting/stabbing incident (=when someone is shot or stabbed)· Two men died today in a shooting incident.verbsan incident happens· The incident happened as Mrs Edwards was walking her dog.an incident occurs formal:· The tragic incident occurred just after midnight.cause an incident· His carelessness caused a major incident.provoke/spark off an incident (=cause it to happen suddenly)· It is claimed that the police provoked the incident.be involved in an incident· All those involved in the incident were sacked.deal with/handle an incident· The police were criticized for the way in which they handled the incident.describe an incident· Police asked the victim to describe the incident.
WORD ORIGINincident
Origin:
1400-1500 French, Latin, present participle of incidere ‘to fall into’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Apart from the incident in Las Vegas our vacation was completely trouble-free.
- Friday's shooting incident in East London led to several arrests.
- One violent incident turned into a political and family tragedy.
- The fans were well behaved, and the game was played without incident.
- Three people were arrested in connection with the rock-throwing incident.
- Agricultural pollution accounted for more than 10 percent of total incidents, and for a third of the major ones.
- From the point of view of societies, economies and the countless incidents of short-term history, civilizations must seem immortal too.
- Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel is based upon true incidents related but altogether forgotten by blacks and whites alike.
- The incidents are, as I said, legion.
- The allegations all relate to an incident on Sunday October 25.
- The North then invaded the South and the Gulf of Tonkin incident followed.
- This incident was notable only because it was my first seizure made on board a cutter.
THESAURUS
something that happens, especially something important, interesting, or unusual: · He spoke of the tragic event in which more than 100 people died.· recent political events
formal something that happens – used especially when saying how often something happens: · Divorce is a common occurrence these days.· Storms like this one are fortunately a rare occurrence.· Accidents are almost a daily occurrence on this road.
something that happens, especially something that is unusual or unpleasant, or something that is one of several events: · He died after a violent incident outside a nightclub.· This latest incident could put an end to his career.
an important social event or celebration: · She only wore the dress for special occasions.· It was his 100th birthday, and friends and family gathered to mark the occasion.
[usually singular] something that happens, especially something shocking in political or public life which involves several people and events: · The affair has caused people to lose confidence in their government.
something that happens or exists in society, science, or nature, especially something that is studied because it is difficult to understand: · natural phenomena such as earthquakes· Homelessness is not a new phenomenon.
Longman Language Activatorsomething that happens, that is not planned something that happens, especially something that is important or interesting: · Meeting Professor Kearney was an event which changed my life.· The book discusses the events leading up to the outbreak of World War Two.· The evening meal is a time when all the family can get together and discuss the day's events.chain/sequence of events (=the order in which events happened): · Police are attempting to reconstruct the sequence of events on the night of the killing.the course of events (=the way that events happened): · Nothing we could have done would have changed the course of events.
informal something that happens: · So many things have happened since I last saw you.a funny thing happened: · A funny thing happened to me on the way to work this morning.not remember a thing (=used to emphasize that you do not remember what happened): · When I woke up the next morning, I couldn't remember a thing.
formal something that happens, use this especially to say whether something happens often or not often: a common/daily/frequent etc occurrence: · Vicious fights and arguments were a daily occurrence in the shipyards.· Earthquakes are an unusual occurrence in England but are not totally unknown.
something that happens, especially something that is unusual or unpleasant or something that is part of a longer series of events: · Apart from the incident in Las Vegas our vacation was completely trouble-free.· One violent incident turned into a political and family tragedy.a bomb/shooting/terrorist etc incident (=used especially in news reports): · Friday's shooting incident in East London led to several arrests.without incident (=without anything unpleasant happening): · The fans were well behaved, and the game was played without incident.
something that happens, especially something that is strange or unusual: · The happenings of the last two days had left me feeling dazed.· 'The X Files' is a fictional television programme about strange, unexplained happenings.
plural phenomena a natural or social process that can be seen or is known to happen, and is often studied: · We now know that our system of planets orbiting the sun is not a unique phenomenon.· The cell phone is a relatively recent phenomenon. It's difficult at the moment to assess its effects.phenomenon of: · the increasing phenomenon of the single parent familynatural phenomenon: · A thorough understanding of mathematics is sufficient to explain a wide variety of natural phenomena.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadjectives their alleged involvement in international terrorism The alleged victim made the complaint at a police station in York. The book is full of amusing stories about his childhood. Police say that last week’s protest was an isolated incident. an ugly incident
1an event, especially one that is unusual, important, or violent: · The road is closed following a serious incident earlier today.
(=very serious)· The most recent major incident was an explosion at an oil refinery.
· An apparently minor incident sparked off rioting.
· The whole incident was caught on CCTV.
· Young men were killed in two separate incidents on the same day.
(=connected to another incident)· The report describes a number of related incidents.
(=one that happens on its own, not together with others)· Luckily the attack turned out to be an isolated incident.
(=the most recent one)· In the latest incident a post office was broken into.
(=unexpected and exciting)· Viewers watched the dramatic incident on the television news.
· There have been several violent incidents at football matches recently.
(=one that involves someone’s death)· Andrew’s father was lost at sea in this tragic incident.
(=involving an accident or argument)· Disciplinary action may be taken over this unfortunate incident.
· He left after an embarrassing incident in the bar.
· Any unusual incidents should be reported to the police.
(=when someone is shot or stabbed)· Two men died today in a shooting incident.
verbs· The incident happened as Mrs Edwards was walking her dog.
formal:· The tragic incident occurred just after midnight.
· His carelessness caused a major incident.
(=cause it to happen suddenly)· It is claimed that the police provoked the incident.
· All those involved in the incident were sacked.
· The police were criticized for the way in which they handled the incident.
· Police asked the victim to describe the incident.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES their alleged involvement in international terrorism The alleged victim made the complaint at a police station in York. The book is full of amusing stories about his childhood. Police say that last week’s protest was an isolated incident. an ugly incident· Violent incidents such as kidnapping dropped sharply last year.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· They were alarmed that the continuing growth in the number of foreign tourists could be jeopardised by an isolated serious incident.· The law doesn't distinguish between an isolated lustful incident and a serious long-standing affair.· The shot putt and resultant hospital visit was not an isolated incident in Roy's life.· This friendliness wasn't an isolated incident.· Unfortunately these are not isolated incidents.· The apparently small and isolated family incidents observed by the family counsellor are often typical examples of family interaction.· The brutal suppression of the insurrection of the early 1980s was not an isolated incident.· Police, however, say that so far only one or two isolated incidents have been reported.
· The latest incident came to light when pupils were overheard discussing the expulsions at the Rising Sun pub in nearby Newbury.· The somatic strip is handled in a late incident just as it is sent to an earlier one.· Although it is impossible to be sure what happened, this latest incident follows a developing pattern of violence in the camps.· Furness said he was satisfied with the safety measures put into place following the latest incident.· Kites have special protection under the law and North Yorkshire Police have been notified of the latest incident.· The latest incident follows 24 attacks - one fatal - in Hampshire over the past year.· The latest incidents come just hours after yesterday's fatal accident inquiry into the upsurge of drug deaths in the city.
· Construction faults, equipment failure and inadequate training of staff were given as the major causes of incidents.· The deadline passed without major incident.· A Merseyside Police spokesman said the operation had passed off without major incident.· The most recent major incident was a blast last April 1 at the Shell refinery in Martinez.· In County Durham the A689 at Killhope was blocked but police said there were no major incidents on the roads.· When there is a major nuclear incident it affects people well beyond the borders' of individual countries.· However, eighteen people were killed during the year. Major incidents were at Wembley, Eccles, and Morpeth.· This was the first major incident of its kind since the beginning of the November revolution.
· Even a minor incident reveals his desperate determination to overcome, the desperation of the poor.· Sometimes seemingly minor incidents can have a major impact on the outcome in New Hampshire.· Before this happened, however, there were two minor incidents worthy of comment.· Police reported a number of minor incidents but no further serious accidents.· First, the physical injuries suffered by the children were relatively minor but the incidents which caused them were significant.· There are, of course, always a number of minor incidents and accidents during training.· The commercial incentive to reduce minor incidents therefore goes hand in hand with incentives to reduce major accidents.
· Anyone with any information about stolen vehicles or any other suspicious incidents around the town should contact Darlington police on Darlington.· Female speaker Could it be linked with any other incident?· Only other major incident was an edge of the area free kick towards the end.· In other words the incident is exploited for personal, political, etc. gain.· The fish has also been involved in other incidents of distress, such as having a fight with a Picasso Trigger.· In other incidents the legal situation has been less clear.
· But now I see, from a recent incident, that people are not ill any more.· The most recent major incident was a blast last April 1 at the Shell refinery in Martinez.· I have developed a theory to explain recent incidents in the light of what I have learned about you.· At the last Parish Council meeting concern was expressed about a number of recent incidents.· Efforts by the government and the judiciary to combat the cartels had been further damaged by two recent incidents.· Two recent incidents have led me to question my responses in a job that I continue to enjoy and do well.· In my hon. Friend's own area in Cambridgeshire there have been no recent incidents.· If anything, though, the more recent incident had proved more damaging.
· In a separate incident, a driver escaped drowning when his fuel tanker plunged into a canal.· They shot or bludgeoned to death numerous others in separate incidents.· The warning, from doctors at Salisbury District Hospital, Wiltshire, follows the separate incidents, one involving a 20-month-old girl.· And fire crews were stoned in three separate incidents as they tried to deal with fires.· Three people were reported to have died in separate incidents of pre-election violence.· In a separate incident, a pensioner was knifed in the head as he sat on a street bench.· In a separate incident, a prisoner who was being moved, broke free and vandalised furniture.· In a separate incident, a journalist, Turan Dursun, was shot and killed on Sept. 4.
· They were alarmed that the continuing growth in the number of foreign tourists could be jeopardised by an isolated serious incident.· Among the most serious incidents occurred at a University of Rhode Island fraternity.· Bloomington treated this as a serious gang incident.· The only serious incident that has ever occurred involved a clear and flagrant case of product alteration and misuse.· The police had realised how serious the incident could be, and managed to find Robert before he was physically harmed.· The responsibility for the serious incident to which he referred was shared among several water authorities.· The most serious incident came in April 1812 when two men were killed in attacking the well-guarded mill of William Cartwright.· A more serious incident was when Eric Langmaid, Chief Engineer, had to repeatedly stop the generators due to overheating.
· Mr Marchant said Durham police have voluntarily referred the shooting incident to the police complaints authority for a full investigation.· There were several bombings and shooting incidents in Ankara and Istanbul in late March and April.
· A similar incident happened in the Hartest district of Suffolk.· Preston says the tribe is looking at a precedent set in a similar incident litigated and settled out of court.· As clashes in the capital continued there were similar incidents in the provinces of Malange, Huambo and Huila.· Jackson and the national media were noticeably absent from Baltimore last November, when a similar incident happened.· There have been similar incidents in Northumbria.· One retired submarine admiral said he had never heard of a similar incident in more than 30 years in the Navy.· In May at least 20 were reported drowned in a similar incident in heavy seas.· It plans to write to the Crown Office to seek an assurance that a similar incident would not occur.
· There have been several reports this year of petty theft and one violent incident.· Grigsby has been plagued by several lawsuits and violent personal incidents.· Sefton councillors this week stripped the club of its entertainments licence after being handed a police dossier detailing violent and rowdy incidents.· In 1983 alone, 147 violent incidents were reported to the National Abortion Federation by member clinics.· Between 1968 and 1970, there were numerous violent incidents involving shootouts between the police and members of the Black Panthers organisation.· By March 1984, forty-four violent incidents had already been reported that year to the National Abortion Federation.· Mr Chinotimba has been identified at the centre of several violent incidents.· A handful of violent incidents flared before June 30.
· She may even be asked to visualise the whole incident in a different way.· The whole incident, overblown though it was, points out the need for greater coordination within government.· The picket was charged with obstruction of the highway although the whole incident lasted for not more than nine minutes.· Although she apologized later, I still have a bad feeling about the whole incident.· I want to say this, too, about the whole incident.· You can let some time pass and hope that this whole incident quickly fades away, which it may well do.· The people, by this time, had also come to regret the whole incident and they beseeched him to stay.· He looked as though he had stage-managed the whole incident.
NOUN· See preceding error message in the incident log file for a fuller explanation of the error encountered.· Check the incident log file for errors which may have occurred earlier and resolve these.
· Between 1979 and 1990, the number of reported pollution incidents from farm waste more than doubled.· This accounts for 90 percent of reported pollution incidents.· The figures show that the number of pollution incidents rose for the fifth successive year and have doubled since 1985.· Although major disasters such as large oil pollution incidents and deaths from pesticides are few, both cause continuing problems.· Of the 2802 pollution incidents from the industrial sources only four percent were classified as major.· The first two chapters discuss a number of pollution incidents and the biological cycles of carbon nitrogen and sulphur.· There are battles being fought all over Ireland about pollution incidents and industrial hazards.
· They've re-opened an incident room they set up in November when a fourteen year old girl was raped.· Milton Keynes police have set up an incident room and they're appealing for any witnesses.· Several potential witnesses have already called the incident room at Cheapside.· The police have set up an incident room with four teams of officers working on the case.· Blanche dictated the direct line to the incident room.· Kate looked around her at the busy incident room.· From a garage on the ascent out of the town she phoned the incident room.· The police incident room in Leyland is on.
VERB· The Washington Post, like other newspapers, played-up alleged racial incidents to bolster scare headlines.· Alameda County prosecutors are now looking into alleged incidents dating back to 1995, a year after he joined the church.
· Mr Deane was quoted in the local paper describing the incident as' an awful shock.· A news announcer is describing an incident that occurred yesterday in Texas.· They've described the incident as mindless stupidity.· Immediately preceding this extracted fragment, the narrator has been describing an incident relevant to the main story.
· A man has been reported for a number of alleged motoring offences following the incident.· A rather typical instance of the way such fears develop can be seen in the following incidents from our practice.· There were several repercussions following my slight incident in the clothes shop.· He relates the following incident as an example of how superficial his understanding was during this early period.· The warning, from doctors at Salisbury District Hospital, Wiltshire, follows the separate incidents, one involving a 20-month-old girl.· The warning follows a number of incidents in Coalisland when fireworks were thrown.· It follows an incident in which a horse became trapped on a gate.· The arrests follow an incident on Sunday when a man hailed a passing ambulance on the A12 near Chelmsford.
· The incident had happened on the return journey.· I should add that these three incidents happened to intelligent, middle-class patients in hospitals with international reputations.· In addition there are difficulties associated with trials relating to incidents which happened in times long gone by.· Jackson and the national media were noticeably absent from Baltimore last November, when a similar incident happened.· Such incidents happen with greater or lesser degrees of seriousness at regular intervals in all our lives.· This was a routine dawn incident that happened in Tuffah last month.· Of all the incidents described, what happened when?· Three parachuting colleagues and the plane's pilot were unaware of the incident as it happened.
· Police said they were investigating the incident as a petrol bombing.· Cooper and Santos emphasized that their job was not to investigate specific incidents but to listen and offer suggestions.· Steps were immediately taken to recover the diplomatic mail and to investigate the incident.· Police are investigating the incident at Allistragh on the Moy Road.· Police are now investigating the incident.· Mr Jones suggested that Physic News magazine should be approached with a view to investigating the incidents and perhaps providing a satisfactory answer.
· Officers say up to fifteen young men were involved in the incident, in which a white Rover car badly damaged.· Both were involved in high-profile incidents last semester that heightened racial tensions on campus.· It is understood Mr Pringle was involved in the earlier incident, and that the shootings were over his relationship with Leanne.· The driver of the lorry involved in the fatal incident was charged on Aug. 29 with dangerous driving.
· I assume this is an isolated incident, as the Windows message that comes up would surely alert any keen quality controller.· This does not seem like an isolated incident.· It is not an isolated incident.· But he insisted they were only isolated incidents.· And this was not an isolated incident.· At first, I wrote these off as isolated incidents.
· Can you recall any suspicious incident, or comment, however trivial it may have seemed, which could help our investigation?· David Kaczynski recalled an incident at the family dinner table when Kaczynski was about 12 or 13.· Simon does not elaborate, but his face begins to tighten as he recalls some disagreeable incident.· Gerald Bellamy recalls a rather macabre incident following this raid.· I can, for instance, recall an incident which provided interest to the customer, and much amusement for me.· The doctor warned her that recalling the incident might trigger a setback for Sergei.· How indeed, writes P Kevan of Liverpool, who recalls a similar incident.
· In addition there are difficulties associated with trials relating to incidents which happened in times long gone by.· Broadus also faces another court hearing involving a felony gun possession charge not related to the Woldemariam incident.· On yet another attempt to kill the Chowgarh tigress, Corbett relates the following intriguing incident.· He relates the following incident as an example of how superficial his understanding was during this early period.· Confidence in police handling of race-related incidents has also plunged.
· Dexter smiled to himself as he remembered that incident.· Janet began college in the late l98Os and remembers the racial incidents of that period.· After discussing this particular case of suttee, the diners went on to remember past incidents of the same nature.· I remembered incidents, fragments, and these became La Strada.· He can hardly remember anything about the incident.· We stayed in Lehrte for three months, but I remember few incidents from it.· But he remembered yesterday's incident in Marie's kitchen.· But about a year ago she had begun to remember incidents which she must hitherto have blocked from her mind.
· No one should be afraid of reporting any incident that occurs.· That was more than the 324 reported incidents of anti-gay harassment and violence.· Another survey in 1994 found 57 percent of towns with over 25, 000 residents reporting gang incidents.· Nearly half of the reported incidents involved falls off the snowmobile or collisions with another snowmobile.· She admitted failing to report the incident, and withholding information when interviewed by the police.· The very nature of anonymous reports naturally prevented any possibility of retribution against wrong-doers reporting the incident.· Serious discussion of the phenomenon began with a debate over the role of the press in reporting violent incidents at football matches.· She has suffered this abuse for almost 9 months and has reported every incident to the police and council.
· Mr Newton was shot after an incident in which he slapped Clifford's wife.· Their house has been the reported scene of other shooting incidents.
Am I at risk because of some incident in my sexual past? Roads were sealed off because of a major incident.without incident The plane landed without incident.► see thesaurus at eventRegisterIncident is used mainly in journalism or in formal contexts. In everyday English, people usually say something happened rather than talking about an incident:· Am I at risk because of something that happened in my past?2a serious disagreement between two countries: You could have caused a major diplomatic incident.COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa serious incident· The road is closed following a serious incident earlier today.a major incident (=very serious)· The most recent major incident was an explosion at an oil refinery.a small/minor incident· An apparently minor incident sparked off rioting.the whole incident· The whole incident was caught on CCTV.a separate incident· Young men were killed in two separate incidents on the same day.a related incident (=connected to another incident)· The report describes a number of related incidents.an isolated incident (=one that happens on its own, not together with others)· Luckily the attack turned out to be an isolated incident.the latest incident (=the most recent one)· In the latest incident a post office was broken into.a dramatic incident (=unexpected and exciting)· Viewers watched the dramatic incident on the television news.a violent incident· There have been several violent incidents at football matches recently.a tragic incident (=one that involves someone’s death)· Andrew’s father was lost at sea in this tragic incident.an unfortunate incident (=involving an accident or argument)· Disciplinary action may be taken over this unfortunate incident.an embarrassing incident· He left after an embarrassing incident in the bar.a strange/unusual incident· Any unusual incidents should be reported to the police.a shooting/stabbing incident (=when someone is shot or stabbed)· Two men died today in a shooting incident.verbsan incident happens· The incident happened as Mrs Edwards was walking her dog.an incident occurs formal:· The tragic incident occurred just after midnight.cause an incident· His carelessness caused a major incident.provoke/spark off an incident (=cause it to happen suddenly)· It is claimed that the police provoked the incident.be involved in an incident· All those involved in the incident were sacked.deal with/handle an incident· The police were criticized for the way in which they handled the incident.describe an incident· Police asked the victim to describe the incident.