topical
[ top-i-kuh l ]
/ ˈtɒp ɪ kəl /
adjective
pertaining to or dealing with matters of current or local interest: a topical reference.
pertaining to the subject of a discourse, composition, or the like.
of a place; local.
Medicine/Medical. of, relating to, or applied externally to a particular part of the body; local: a topical anesthetic.
noun
Philately. any of a collection of different stamps treating the same subject.
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RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
tophus, topi, topiary, topic, topic sentence, topical, topical anesthesia, topicality, topicalize, topically, topkhana
Origin of topical
Related formstop·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for topical
British Dictionary definitions for topical
topical
/ (ˈtɒpɪkəl) /
adjective
of, relating to, or constituting current affairs
relating to a particular place; local
of or relating to a topic or topics
(of a drug, ointment, etc) for application to the body surface; local
Derived Formstopicality (ˌtɒpɪˈkælɪtɪ), nountopically, adverb
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
Word Origin and History for topical
topical
1580s, from topic + -al (1). Medical sense is from c.1600. Meaning "of or pertaining to topics of the day" is from 1873.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for topical
topical
[ tŏp′ĭ-kəl ]
adj.
Of or applied to a definite or localized area of the body.
Related formstop′i•cal•ly adv.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.