Academic / B1

TOP-ik/ˈtɒpɪk/

A topic is a subject you talk or write about: the topic of the essay; a hot topic; stay on topic. Subject is close and also means a school course (maths is my favourite subject); theme is a bigger idea running through a text; issue often means a problem people disagree about. Off-topic is a useful classroom adjective. Topic sentence is a writing-class term.

Meaning

A subject that you talk or write about.

Examples

• “The topic of the lesson is travel.”
• “Choose a topic you know well.”
• “The discussion went off topic after ten minutes.”

Good to know

the topic of + noun. stay on / go off topic. School course: subject. Problem/debate: issue.

Near in meaning

subject

Topics

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