The word event can have several meanings: In culture and social life, an event, or social event, refers to a social gathering or activity, such as a festival, ceremony, competition, party or gathering. In science, an event is something that takes place at a particular place and time. Mental event, something that happens in the mind, such a as a thought 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).