topic
- 01 A1 Beginner
the main subject that you are talking, writing, or learning about.
the subject or theme of a discourse, literary work, or investigation.
Simple“The teacher asked us to choose a topic for our final history project.”
In context“The seminar covered a wide range of topics, from international trade agreements to the sociological impact of urban migration.”
UsageOften used with the prepositions 'on' or 'of'.
- 02 B1 Intermediate
a specific conversation or thread on a website or social media page.
a specific thread or subject of discussion within an online forum or social media platform.
Simple“I started a new topic on the travel forum to ask for hotel advice.”
In context“The moderator closed the topic after the discussion devolved into personal attacks that violated the community guidelines.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
a named channel used to send messages to many people or systems at once.
a logical distribution channel in a publish-subscribe messaging pattern, allowing multiple subscribers to receive messages from a single publisher.
Simple“The system sends an alert to the 'security' topic whenever a login fails.”
In context“By decoupling the producers from the consumers via a message topic, the architecture ensures that high-frequency data bursts do not overwhelm individual services.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
a musical style or rhythm that reminds the listener of a specific mood or place.
a musical unit or style that functions as a signifier, evoking a particular genre, mood, or cultural context.
Simple“The composer used a military topic to make the music sound like a parade.”
In context“The movement employs a pastoral topic, utilizing oboe melodies and drone basses to evoke a rural landscape.”
Usage address topic · following topic · important topic
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”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.