Culture and social life
In culture and social life, an event, or social event, refers to a social gathering or activity, such as:
A festival, for example a musical event
A ceremony, for example a marriage
A competition, for example a sports competition
A party, for example a birthday party
A convention (meeting), for example a gaming convention
Science and mathematics
In science, an event is something that takes place at a particular place and time. Specifically, event may refer to:
Phenomenon, something observable at a given time
A point in spacetime, a concept of the theory of relativity
Event (particle physics), a set of elementary particle interactions
Event (probability theory), a possible outcome of an experiment
Extinction event, when a large number of biological species die out in a relatively short period of time
Technical
Programming - In event-driven programming, an event is a software message that indicates something has happened, such as a keystroke or mouse click
Process Control - In process control, an event is an occurrence that has happened and has been registered
Calendaring and Scheduling - In the iCalendar standard for representing and exchanging calendar data, an event represents a scheduled amount of time on a calendar.
Philosophy
Event (philosophy)
Brain event, anything that happens in the brain
Mental event, something that happens in the mind, such a as a thought
Common usage
In common usage, an event (as opposed to a special event) has a connotation of an occurrence which is more common than a phenomenon (due perhaps to the difference between a two syllable word and a four syllable word). Thus, in common usage, a keystroke is an event, where the Big Bang might be connoted a phenomenon (a special event which denotes the beginning of the universe). For example, portal:current events denotes "events" rather than "phenomena".