Historical means relating to history or things that actually happened in the past. A historical novel tells a story set during a real period of time, like the American Revolution or ancient Rome. A historical site is a place where something important really occurred, such as Independence Hall in Philadelphia or the Wright Brothers National Memorial in North Carolina.

The word helps us distinguish between what's real and what's imaginary. A historical figure like Abraham Lincoln actually lived and shaped our country, while a fictional character like Luke Skywalker exists only in stories. When your teacher assigns a historical research project, you're studying real events, real people, and real causes and effects, not making things up.

Be careful not to confuse historical with historic. While they're related, historic specifically means important or famous in history (a historic speech that changed the world), while historical simply means connected to or from the past (a historical costume from the 1800s, whether significant or not).