Synonyms

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.

He also won a $4.69 billion verdict in 2018 for women and their families who said asbestos-tainted talcum powder caused ovarian cancer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

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

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

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

He said it was the same size as either a human blood cell, mould spores, bacteria, talcum powder and a fog droplet.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2025

A toddler tries to climb onto my lap, his naked body camouflaged in talcum powder.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

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