Topic Meaning
/ˈtɒpɪk/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjtopical
nounA subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
Sentence Examples
That topic is too intimate to share with casual acquaintances.
It's not a suitable topic for discussion.
The main topic of conversation was Tom's new girlfriend.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The main ____ discussed in today's science class was the water cycle.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The main ____ of our discussion today will be the best way to improve the security of our local network today.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy."
— 2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
"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."
— 2026 February 11, “Hotfix #11”, in Pathologic 3 Events, Ice-Pick Lodge, via Steam Community, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2026:
"In Peircean terms, topics are interpretants: signifieds that become new signifiers in the endless semiotic chain of interpretations."
— 2012, Esti Sheinberg, Music Semiotics, page 9:
"contumacious persons, who are not to be fixed by any principles, whom no topics can work upon"
— 1675, John Wilkins, Of the Principle and Duties of Natural Religion:
"Amongst topics or outward medicines none are more precious than baths."
— 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The main ____ discussed in today's science class was the water cycle.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The main ____ of our discussion today will be the best way to improve the security of our local network today.