dispute

American  

[dih-spyoot] / dɪˈspyut /

verb (used without object)

disputed, disputing

1. to engage in argument or debate.

   She liked nothing more than to dispute with her fellow law students.

2. to argue vehemently; wrangle or quarrel.

   Those two are always disputing about something or other.

   Synonyms:

   squabble, bicker

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verb (used with object)

disputed, disputing

1. to argue or debate about; discuss.

   Whether excessive time spent on the internet can be called an addiction is hotly disputed.

2. to argue against; call into question.

   Historians dispute this claim, suggesting Raleigh could not possibly have discovered the potato in the places he visited.

3. to quarrel or fight about; contest.

   We stopped to watch a puffed-up crow disputing territory with a cat.

4. Archaic. to strive against; oppose.

   to dispute an advance of troops.

noun

1. a debate, controversy, or difference of opinion.

   Players were elated when the equal pay dispute was finally resolved.

2. 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

1. in dispute,

   1. being fought or argued over; debated or contested; unresolved.

      The authorship of the recently discovered text is in dispute.

      Both countries argue that the territories in dispute originally belonged to them.

   2. engaged in an argument or disagreement.

      The program enables parties in dispute to settle their differences over the internet without face-to-face mediation.

dispute British  

verb

1. to argue, debate, or quarrel about (something)

2. (tr; may take a clause as object) to doubt the validity, etc, of

3. (tr) to seek to win; contest for

4. (tr) to struggle against; resist

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noun

1. an argument or quarrel

dispute More Idioms  

1. see in dispute.

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Related Words

See argument.

Other Word Forms

• disputeless
  adjective
• disputer
  noun
• predispute
  noun
• redispute
  verb
• undisputing
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Community Dispute Resolution Centers can also offer lower cost alternatives.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 21, 2025

Dispute him on any of it, and he may well get cranky!

From Slate • May 13, 2025

Dispute the problems though, Clarkson's Farm has been praised for showing the public the reality of British farming.

From BBC • Aug. 24, 2024

Fabio Trevisan, partner and head of BSP's Dispute Resolution practice, the law firm representing Perenco, declined to comment on the interest payments received.

From Reuters • Aug. 2, 2022

Dispute over Copernicanism was distorted by the intervention of the theologians, but the dispute over physics could take place without such interference.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• bickering
• brawl
• conflict
• controversy
• debate
• disagreement
• discord
• discussion
• disturbance
• feud
• friction
• misunderstanding
• quarrel
• row
• squabble
• strife
• wrangle