at issue
Idioms-
In question, under discussion; also, to be decided. For example, Who will pay for the refreshments was the point at issue . [Early 1800s]
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In conflict, in disagreement, as in Physicians are still at issue over the appropriate use of hormone therapy . This usage, from legal terminology, was defined by Sir William Blackstone ( Commentaries on the Laws of England , 1768), who said that when a point is affirmed by one side and denied by the other, “they are then said to be at issue .”
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.
However, only the teachers’ contract was at issue.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
What was at issue is whether the FCC is allowed to change the rules on its own.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
It didn’t end well, with Argentina defaulting after just three years and Austria’s bonds now worth just 5% of what they were worth at issue, as zero rates proved temporary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
“Where jurisdictional questions are at issue, the Commission has the expertise and responsibility to defend its exclusive jurisdiction over commodity derivatives,” Selig said.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
Many boys were pledged or even married in their early teens, and some, where the uniting of high-class families was at issue, to older girls.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
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.
