talcum powder

American  

[tal-kuhm] / ˈtæl kəm /

noun

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

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talcum powder British  

/ ˈtælkəm /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of talcum powder

1885–90; < Medieval Latin talcum talc

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

talcum powder

Inside, time seemed to move differently: tennis whites drying beneath the afternoon sun, bridge rooms carrying the faint smell of cigarettes and talcum powder, elderly members reading newspapers beneath slow ceiling fans.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

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

Also on the horizon are the thousands of ongoing lawsuits related to Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products.

From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026

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

It was like a heavy shaking of talcum powder in the brain hearing all those mothers complimenting each other’s daughters and lisping back in good Castilian to the Sisters of the Merciful Mother.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez