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Definition of topic : 1. A treatise on forms of argument; a system or scheme of forms or commonplaces of argument or oratory; as, the Topics of Aristotle.
2. An argument or reason.
3. An external local application or remedy, as a plaster, a blister, etc.
4. One of the various general forms of argument employed in probable as distinguished from demonstrative reasoning, -- denominated by Aristotle to` poi ( literally, places), as being the places or sources from which arguments may be derived, or to which they may be referred; also, a prepared form of argument, applicable to a great variety of cases, with a supply of which the ancient rhetoricians and orators provided themselves; a commonplace of argument or oratory.
5. The subject of any distinct portion of a discourse, or argument, or literary composition; also, the general or main subject of the whole; a matter treated of; a subject, as of conversation or of thought; a matter; a point; a head.
6. Topical.

Synonyms:

guinea pig, base, subject matter, content, field, emergence, issuing, root, affair, publication, head, takings, return, outlet, government issue, number, issuance, offspring, event, result, paper, exit, egress, military issue, national, yield, effect, take, root word, way out, composition, payoff, melodic theme, study, subject area, proceeds, thing, consequence, outcome, bailiwick, proposition, case, division, report, stem, motion, discipline, progeny, field of study, subject field, musical theme, depicted object, radical

indication, upshot, pith, interpretation, significance, drift, connotation, meaning, explanation, crux, message, denotation, gist, definition, relevance, tenor, thrust, description, purpose, intent, implication

inference, assertion, motif, contention, dissertation, subject, principle, postulation, text, argument, thesis, axiom, consideration, statement, belief, theme, concept, opinion, query, assumption, paradigm, basis, presumption, essay, theorem, idea, issue, exposition, question, hypothesis, premise, conjecture, point, problem, position, matter

matter in hand, moot point, material, field of inquiry, point in question, study at subjectsubject, resolution

Usage examples:

• But the topic under discussion was a serious one, and Jane speedily recovered her gravity. - "The Nether World", George Gissing.
• I know of no better topic to begin with, continued Thorwald, than the matter of government. - "Daybreak: A Romance of an Old World", James Cowan.
• Whenever we begin to read a book, or undertake any topic of study, it should be done with a definite purpose in mind. - "How Girls Can Help Their Country", Juliette Low Agnes Baden-Powell Robert Baden-Powell.