talcum powder

American

[tal-kuhm] / ˈtæl kəm /

noun

a powder made of purified, usually perfumed talc, for toilet purposes.

talcum powder British

/ ˈtælkəm /

noun

Often shortened to: talc. a powder made of purified talc, usually scented, used for perfuming the body and for absorbing excess moisture

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of talcum powder

1885–90; < Medieval Latin talcum talc

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.

To visualize microscopic asbestos fibers in talcum powder, he brought a bale of hay into a courtroom and dropped a needle into the blades.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Footage of the event showed several people trying to restrain the pair as they sprayed the stones with a mix of cornflour, talcum powder and orange dye.

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

At 19 he joined the Polka Tulk Blues Band, named after the brand of talcum powder favored by his mother.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

Packed in my picnic basket beside my chair, Banana Cake joined me while watching sunsets on some of the most beautiful, sugar white, talcum powder soft beaches in the world.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2025

I took it all in: the firm but biscuit-doughy feel of Big Ma’s arms; her gardenia talcum powder and Dixie Peach hair grease dabbed under her wig around her temples.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023