topic

American  

[top-ik] / ˈtɒp ɪk /

noun

• topics
  plural

1. a subject of conversation or discussion.

   to provide a topic for discussion.

2. the subject or theme of a discourse or of one of its parts.

   Synonyms:

   subject matter, thesis

3. Rhetoric, Logic. a general field of considerations from which arguments can be drawn.

4. 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.

---

topic British  

/ ˈtɒpɪk /

noun

1. a subject or theme of a speech, essay, book, etc

2. a subject of conversation; item of discussion

3. (in rhetoric, logic, etc) a category or class of arguments or ideas which may be drawn on to furnish proofs

---

Synonym Usage

See subject.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• topics
  plural

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; see topo-

Explanation

A topic is a subject. It's what you're discussing or what a newspaper article is about, the theme of a documentary, or the focus of your term paper. Green energy, the Oscar nominees, what's on the lunch menu, boxers or briefs — these are all considered topics. If something is a "hot topic," then everybody is talking about it. If it's a "topic for discussion," then someone wants to have a serious conversation about it. If you're at a dinner party, you can talk about all kinds of topics with other guests. But to keep peace at the table, avoid bringing up controversial political or religious topics.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

topic topics

Researchers found last year that filtering biothreat-related text from training data makes models ignorant about the topic, but they caution it isn’t a silver bullet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

In the memo, seen by the Associated Press, external, Engelbert said the league would "always approach this topic thoughtfully, respectfully, and in alignment with the longstanding values of our league".

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

The topic was raised on Torre’s podcast by a person identified as an “anonymous high-level source under contract for Intuit Dome.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

What troubles the team is that since problems arose surrounding redemptions at the end of the first quarter, the rise in risk assets has pushed the topic of private-credit risk off the radar.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Somehow the topic turned to lighter things, and Ob and Mr. Underwood talked of the weather and the new bridge being built down the road.

From "Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant

Roberts, 45, brings the same enthusiasm to discussing how AI is reshaping publishing as he does to favorite topics like black holes, Dungeons & Dragons and cartography.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Kercher's sister, Stephanie told BBC Breakfast her sibling "wouldn't find these topics of any comedy value".

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

“She covered topics that weren’t being covered. It was extraordinary the audiences that the show drew, and she served them real stories that were affecting Americans across the country but weren’t necessarily being represented anywhere.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Micro-trends in production, slang and topics come and go quickly.

From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026

“Some groups haven’t even selected their topics yet. If anything, we’re ahead.”

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Related Words

• affair
• argument
• business
• case
• field
• issue
• material
• matter
• point
• problem
• proposition
• question
• subject
• theme