dispute
Americanverb (used without object)
-
disputes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disputed,
past participle, past
-
disputing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
disputes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disputed,
past participle, past
-
disputing
present participle
-
to argue or debate about; discuss.
Whether excessive time spent on the internet can be called an addiction is hotly disputed.
-
to argue against; call into question.
Historians dispute this claim, suggesting Raleigh could not possibly have discovered the potato in the places he visited.
-
to quarrel or fight about; contest.
We stopped to watch a puffed-up crow disputing territory with a cat.
-
Archaic. to strive against; oppose.
to dispute an advance of troops.
noun
-
disputes
plural
-
a debate, controversy, or difference of opinion.
Players were elated when the equal pay dispute was finally resolved.
-
a wrangling argument; quarrel.
Some women at the end of the bar were having a noisy dispute about who should be the designated driver.
- Synonyms:
- bickering, squabble, wrangle, altercation, disputation
idioms
verb
-
to argue, debate, or quarrel about (something)
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to doubt the validity, etc, of
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(tr) to seek to win; contest for
-
(tr) to struggle against; resist
noun
Synonym Usage
See argument.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disputesimple
-
disputessimple
-
have disputedperfect
-
has disputedperfect
-
am disputingprogressive
-
are disputingprogressive
-
is disputingprogressive
-
have been disputingperfect progressive
-
has been disputingperfect progressive
Past
-
disputedsimple
-
had disputedperfect
-
was disputingprogressive
-
were disputingprogressive
-
had been disputingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dispute
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English verb disputen, dispuiten, desputen, either from Anglo-French, Old French desputer or directly from Latin disputāre “to argue a point,” equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + putāre “to reckon, consider”; noun derivative of the verb; see putative
Explanation
If kids can't settle their own argument, they may need someone to mediate their dispute, or conflict. You can often tell this is the case if you hear the loud cry, "Mom!" The noun dispute means any conflict or disagreement. The countries were in the middle of a border dispute; both sides claimed the toxic waste dump belonged to the other. As a verb, dispute can mean to quarrel or argue, but it can also mean to take exception to something. If your boasting friend crows because you lost the trivia game to her by 150 points, you may want to dispute the facts. It was only 145 points.
Vocabulary lists containing dispute
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 5
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The New SAT: The Language of the Test
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The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Other city officials mostly have remained quiet in the dispute about LA28’s financial reporting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Guy de Maupassant’s novels are worth reading, but few would dispute the claim that his best work appears in his stories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
I would prefer that those funds be protected to the extent legally possible, rather than potentially becoming part of a marital property dispute.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
The barrister said that if any substance was covertly administered, or if Farquhar was misled about what he was drinking prior to his death, there would be "no dispute" that Field is guilty of murder.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
In the years that followed there erupted a long-running dispute between Allan Sandage, heir to Hubble at Mount Wilson, and Gérard de Vaucouleurs, a French-born astronomer based at the University of Texas.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
But in “Cupertino,” the legal minds at the center of the show are taking on more consequential tech disputes in the courtroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
But can Nepal really bring the two regional giants together to confront a shared climate threat in a region where they have long been locked in bitter territorial disputes?
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Thorough screening and a good lease can reduce problems and help resolve disputes, but nothing is foolproof.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
The proposal will cover territorial disputes, postconflict economic prosperity, and a new security architecture for Russia and Europe, according to a person familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
The League had some success in humanitarian work and in settling minor disputes.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Clarkson disputed the explanation, saying she had pointed to a $15,000 price tag and been told the bird was available.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
Webull disputed a congressional committee’s findings about its ties to China, saying the report contained inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
San Jose Water Co., which serves about 1 million customers, disputed the group’s findings, saying it used “erroneously aggregated data to perform an analysis that grabs headlines.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
But she disputed the conversation was out of bounds:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
How the tabloids got hold of that story is hotly disputed.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
If reality truly is nothing more than a hallucination, dream or computer screensaver in the brain, why should we waste time disputing it?
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
After Art of Play’s response, Clarkson doubled down on her claims on Instagram with photos disputing the shop’s statement and detailing what she recalled of their interaction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Tax Court, disputing the agency’s claim that they made missteps with grantor-retained annuity trusts, or GRATs, which they used to shift money to their three daughters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
But SLC Turnberry Limited - which owns the course - is disputing Trump's role as the "ultimate owner", arguing that his stake in the course is held by a trust.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Doctors were openly disputing every aspect of the fever, and the College of Physicians, which had promised to meet every Monday, had given up.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
