topic

American  

[top-ik] / ˈtɒp ɪk /

noun

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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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

He suggested a “three-prong approach” to contextualizing the topic of “holdover” fires.

From Los Angeles Times

Trainees were supplied with a reference booklet covering most of the same topics discussed in the training, as well as a set of numbers to call in case of different events.

From Salon

Gentle parenting has become a contentious topic, but Kelly believes much of this stems from misunderstanding.

From BBC

Other legal analysis on the topic came back in 2012 when U.S.

From Salon

Danny Dougherty is a graphics reporter working on visually driven stories across a variety of topics—ranging from elections and politics to economics to science—and is based in The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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