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
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(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
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has disputedperfect
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am disputingprogressive
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are disputingprogressive
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is disputingprogressive
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have been disputingperfect progressive
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has been disputingperfect progressive
Past
-
disputedsimple
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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:
If there is a dispute over how these payments are provided, parents can turn to the CMS to help ensure a child's living costs, including bills, food and clothing, are paid.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
“There is no dispute that the state and federal prosecutors each charged the identical murder,” they wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Together, the evidence appears to resolve a long running dispute over whether original biological molecules can remain in extremely old fossils.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
“To us, Bruce was never just a case number, a legal dispute, or a public controversy,” the group wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Howard Clement of the BSC rejected an attempt by merchants to settle the dispute before their most lucrative period.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Iran disputes that the U.S. controls the strait.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Eventually, the yard’s tall treehouse and growing crowds each Halloween led to permit disputes and the prospect of criminal charges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Reform advocates have said the problem is especially acute in proceedings that involve allegations of domestic violence and other types of family court disputes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
While Kim grew closer to Kremlin-linked businessmen, her newly estranged husband, Bakalchuk, enlisted the support of Ramzan Kadyrov, a former warlord and current head of Chechnya who intervenes in business disputes in return for cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
The Seattle General Strike was the first major labor walkout in a year that would see an almost continuous stream of labor disputes.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Some of his claims about his life, including that he once ran 30 marathons in 35 days and raised millions for charities, were disputed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Pope Alexander II may therefore have supported William for reasons that went well beyond Harold's disputed claim to the English throne.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Federal officials said the two states had failed to provide sufficient evidence that a number of disputed medical claims were legitimate.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos in an interview Wednesday disputed those findings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
There were a thousand disputed questions about arms and armour, all of which had to be understood.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Hims & Hers is disputing the claims and said it would defend itself in court.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
El Temach and Kibe both strongly deny their content is misogynistic, with Kibe - in an interview with the BBC - even disputing the existence of the concept.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Manifold stated he was “removed without warning and without explanation,” disputing BP’s characterization of his conduct.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
The case has garnered the attention of the federal Department of Justice, which filed a brief this month disputing an argument made by the insurers to have the case thrown out.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2026
On the whole, I by no means recognised the analysis, but thought it not worth disputing.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
