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.

See Examples For:

talcum powder

A welcome exception came last Thursday when federal magistrate judge Rukhsanah Singh disqualified Beasley Allen from representing plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation against Johnson & Johnson claiming injuries from talcum powder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

A group of Scottish women have launched legal action against Johnson & Johnson accusing the firm of selling them talcum powder contaminated with asbestos.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 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

I felt as if I were standing on a floor where a child had spilled talcum powder and I would have to walk carefully so as not to slip and fall.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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