talc
Americannoun
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Also talcum a green-to-gray, soft mineral, hydrous magnesium silicate, Mg 3 (Si 4 O10 )(OH) 2 , unctuous to the touch, and occurring usually in foliated or compact masses, used in making lubricants, talcum powder, electrical insulation, etc.
verb (used with object)
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talcs,
present (3rd person singular)
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talced,
past participle, past
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talcked,
past participle, past
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talcing,
present participle
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talcking
present participle
noun
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See talcum powder
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a white, grey, brown, or pale green mineral, found in metamorphic rocks. It is used in the manufacture of talcum powder and electrical insulators. Composition: hydrated magnesium silicate. Formula: Mg 3 Si 4 O 10 (OH) 2 . Crystal structure: monoclinic
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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talcsimple
-
talcssimple
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have talcedperfect
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have talckedperfect
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has talcedperfect
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has talckedperfect
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am talcingprogressive
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am talckingprogressive
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are talcingprogressive
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are talckingprogressive
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is talcingprogressive
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is talckingprogressive
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have been talcingperfect progressive
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have been talckingperfect progressive
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has been talcingperfect progressive
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has been talckingperfect progressive
Past
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talcedsimple
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talckedsimple
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had talcedperfect
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had talckedperfect
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was talcingprogressive
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was talckingprogressive
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were talcingprogressive
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were talckingprogressive
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had been talcingperfect progressive
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had been talckingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of talc
1595–1605; < Medieval Latin talcum < Arabic ṭalq mica < Persian talk
Vocabulary lists containing 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:
But kudos to Johnson & Johnson, which fought the tort bar and will likely settle talc lawsuits for billions of dollars less than it offered a few years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The company has faced lawsuits from consumers and their survivors who claim J&J's talc products caused cancer due to contamination with asbestos.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The plaintiffs suffered another setback last week when two expert witnesses in court said they couldn’t say for sure that talc caused ovarian cancer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
In 2024, the company offered more than $8 billion to plaintiffs as part of a bankruptcy attempt that could have ended the ovarian-cancer talc litigation but in the end, a judge didn’t approve it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Some areas became hard as rock while others remained as soft as talc.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Food and Drug Administration was considering a limit on asbestos in talcs.
From Reuters ● Dec. 14, 2018
After receiving inquiries from Reuters, the ACS in early December revised its website to remove the assurance that cosmetic talcs are free of asbestos.
From Reuters ● Dec. 14, 2018
Wide-shouldered, hairy-chested William Nassaur, whose Courtley, Ltd. shaving soaps, lotions, talcs, and bubble baths had already deodorized and sweetened thousands of U.S. males, got set last week to waft his perfume worldwide.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then the three brothers took, each of them, a princess with him on his horse, and they all rode together back to the old King, telling talcs and singing songs as they went.
From Old Peter's Russian Tales by Dmitri Mitrokhin
"How can you ask that? What do you imagine I'm doing? I am talcing care of your brother. I am taking care of Bran."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
