topic
Americannoun
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a subject of conversation or discussion.
to provide a topic for discussion.
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the subject or theme of a discourse or of one of its parts.
- Synonyms:
- subject matter, thesis
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Rhetoric, Logic. a general field of considerations from which arguments can be drawn.
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Also called theme. Linguistics. the part of a sentence that announces the item about which the rest of the sentence communicates information, often signaled by initial position in the sentence or by a grammatical marker.
noun
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a subject or theme of a speech, essay, book, etc
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a subject of conversation; item of discussion
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(in rhetoric, logic, etc) a category or class of arguments or ideas which may be drawn on to furnish proofs
Related Words
See subject.
Etymology
Origin of topic
First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin topica (plural), from Greek (tà) topiká name of work by Aristotle (literally, “(things) pertaining to commonplaces),” equivalent to tóp(os) “commonplace” + -ika, neuter plural of -ikos -ic; topo-
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of the biggest issues the case has raised is the topic of personal versus collective responsibility.
From BBC
The 34-year-old is now launching a new ITV reality show called The Heat, but dedicates much of her time to investigating topics such as cosmetic surgery, adult entertainment and online trolling.
From BBC
Her growing profile has South Korea’s spy agency believing she is increasingly positioned to succeed her father, although North Korea has stayed mum on the succession topic.
Other topics we look at include the growing health risk for people under 55, family money meetings and the corporate jargon that annoys you most.
But of course, as a 40-something woman, I was already well aware of the stranglehold such topics have on my peer group.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
