topic

See also: topić, tòpic, topíc, Topič, and topič

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin topica, from Ancient Greek τοπικός (topikós, “pertaining to a place, local, pertaining to a common place, or topic, topical”), from τόπος (tópos, “a place”).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɒpɪk/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɑpɪk/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɒpɪk
  • Hyphenation: top‧ic

Adjective

topic

  1. topical

Noun

topic (plural topics)

  1. A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
    Synonym: ground
    A society where a topic cannot be discussed, does not have free speech.
    stick to the topic
    an interesting topic of conversation
    romance is a topic that frequently comes up in conversation
  2. (linguistics) The entity or idea that a clause or sentence is about.
  3. (Internet) A discussion thread.
    • 2026 February 11, “Hotfix #11”, in Pathologic 3 Events‎[1], Ice-Pick Lodge, via Steam Community, archived from the original on 19 February 2026:
      If after the update you still run into bugs or odd behavior, please report them in the appropriate Steam Community thread or the relevant Discord channel/topic.
  4. (computing) A component similar to a message queue which supports multiple subscribers.
  5. (music) A musical sign intended to suggest a particular style or genre.
    • 2012, Esti Sheinberg, Music Semiotics, page 9:
      In Peircean terms, topics are interpretants: signifieds that become new signifiers in the endless semiotic chain of interpretations.
  6. (obsolete) An argument or reason.
    • 1675, John Wilkins, Of the Principle and Duties of Natural Religion:
      contumacious persons, who are not to be fixed by any principles, whom no topics can work upon
  7. (obsolete, medicine) An external local application or remedy, such as a plaster, a blister, etc.
    • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
      Amongst topics or outward medicines none are more precious than baths.

Usage notes

  • In English, topics are usually identified by word order, intonation and context, rather than by a dedicated grammatical marker. A topic is often clause-initial, but may occur elsewhere.

Synonyms

  • (area of interest): subject, subject area

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

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