topic

American  

[top-ik] / ˈtɒp ɪk /

noun

topics plural

1. a subject of conversation or discussion.

   to provide a topic for discussion.

2. the subject or theme of a discourse or of one of its parts.

   Synonyms:

   subject matter, thesis

3. Rhetoric, Logic. a general field of considerations from which arguments can be drawn.

4. Also called theme.  Linguistics. the part of a sentence that announces the item about which the rest of the sentence communicates information, often signaled by initial position in the sentence or by a grammatical marker.

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topic British  

/ ˈtɒpɪk /

noun

1. a subject or theme of a speech, essay, book, etc

2. a subject of conversation; item of discussion

3. (in rhetoric, logic, etc) a category or class of arguments or ideas which may be drawn on to furnish proofs

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Synonym Usage

See subject.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• topics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of topic

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin topica (plural), from Greek (tà) topiká name of work by Aristotle (literally, “(things) pertaining to commonplaces),” equivalent to tóp(os) “commonplace” + -ika, neuter plural of -ikos -ic; see topo-

Explanation

A topic is a subject. It's what you're discussing or what a newspaper article is about, the theme of a documentary, or the focus of your term paper. Green energy, the Oscar nominees, what's on the lunch menu, boxers or briefs — these are all considered topics. If something is a "hot topic," then everybody is talking about it. If it's a "topic for discussion," then someone wants to have a serious conversation about it. If you're at a dinner party, you can talk about all kinds of topics with other guests. But to keep peace at the table, avoid bringing up controversial political or religious topics.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

topic topics

I understand that the Reconstruction Amendments might not feel like the most compelling discussion topic for happy hour.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

"There is no clear winner in this race yet, which is why it is currently quite a hot topic," said Marc Einstein of Counterpoint Research.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

This week she looked into a difficult topic — financial adjustments made by people nearing the end of their lives in order to make things easier for their loved ones.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

“The most important topic to be decided is how do you define market power?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

I guess I know who’s going to be the topic of conversation on the limo ride back to Chicago.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Other sensitive topics are what role it determines carbon capture technology can play in businesses or whether they can acquire carbon credits from programmes outside the EU that would be counted towards their emissions reductions.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

It has dealt with a number of topics that many teenage and young adult viewers will be familiar with - such as sexual identity, mental health and bullying.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

The age range was chosen because accurate readings on these topics are harder with older kids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that the two old chums “had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.”

From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2026

If we were keen to avoid certain topics, it was probably more because it embarrassed us.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• affair
• argument
• business
• case
• field
• issue
• material
• matter
• point
• problem
• proposition
• question
• subject
• theme