topic
Americannoun
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a subject of conversation or discussion.
to provide a topic for discussion.
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the subject or theme of a discourse or of one of its parts.
- Synonyms:
- subject matter, thesis
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Rhetoric, Logic. a general field of considerations from which arguments can be drawn.
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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.
noun
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a subject or theme of a speech, essay, book, etc
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a subject of conversation; item of discussion
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(in rhetoric, logic, etc) a category or class of arguments or ideas which may be drawn on to furnish proofs
Related Words
See subject.
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; topo-
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 enrolled in the Trade-Tech program in fall 2023 and has taken classes on brakes, suspension and engine theory, among other topics.
From Los Angeles Times
The former was a big topic for politicians in 2025, with the Senate and House both passing their versions of bills meant to remove barriers to construction and homeownership.
From Barron's
The party's absence was criticised by the other parties, whilst their influence on topics such as immigration was acknowledged.
From BBC
Though this material provides context, the book’s habit of teasing the titular riot several times and then jumping to another topic gets a bit exasperating.
If you click on one post about a topic, suddenly that viewpoint appears everywhere you look, skewing your view of reality.
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.
