topical

[ top-i-kuhl ]

adjective

1. relating to or dealing with matters of current or local interest:

   a topical reference.

2. relating to the subject of a discourse, composition, or the like.
3. relating to or in a particular place; local:

   The themes chosen for World Meteorological Day reflect topical weather, climate, or water-related issues.

4. Medicine/Medical. of, relating to, or applied externally to a particular part of the body; local:

   a topical anesthetic.

noun

1. Philately. any of a collection of different stamps treating the same subject.

topical

/ ˈtɒpɪkəl; ˌtɒpɪˈkælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or constituting current affairs
2. relating to a particular place; local
3. of or relating to a topic or topics
4. (of a drug, ointment, etc) for application to the body surface; local

Derived Forms

• ˈtopically, adverb
• topicality, noun

Other Words From

• top·i·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of topical¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Greek topik(ós) “local, pertaining to commonplaces” ( topo-, -ic ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

So start profiling the known authorities within your topical niche on your own!

From Search Engine Land

As successive years of record-breaking funding signaled investor conviction in the promise of the continent’s startups, the topical focus soon shifted with more scrutiny paid to just how quickly investors could expect profitable exits.

From Quartz

The electrodes, implanted inside the brain, connect with this topical device.

From Singularity Hub 

Internal linking also creates topical relevance by creating supporting content for the main topics of your website.

From Search Engine Watch

This internal linking strategy strengthens the topical relevance of your pages and contributes to improved ranking, increased traffic and higher click-through rates.

From Search Engine Watch

For a while he mines a topical vein: Imelda Marcos, the S&L crisis, AIDS.

From The Daily Beast

“Cocaine specifically is still used as a topical anesthetic,” says John Halpern.

From The Daily Beast

Some viewers may get their news from watching “Update” (or other topical TV shows); Fallon got some of his news from writing it.

From The Daily Beast

It's those attributes, more than the clever writing or topical satire that made the episode such a pleasure to watch.

From The Daily Beast

The press release had stated that the show would feature “classic Python material with modern topical twists.”

From The Daily Beast

The proposal to substitute the more topical opera, The Flying Deutschmann, has been received without favour.

From Project Gutenberg

The Echo is an exception, showing a fondness for short, quiet, topical articles of a rather serious nature.

From Project Gutenberg

He tried his hand at topical humour, and again and again at short sensational tales.

From Project Gutenberg

In the Third Book the purely topical method is used in order to give the pupil a coherent knowledge of each subject.

From Project Gutenberg

One of them possessed a Continental edition, and the other was immensely popular because of its topical illustrations.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• newsworthy