dispute

[dih-spyoot]

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

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

dispute

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

noun

1. an argument or quarrel

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispute¹

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; putative

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispute¹

C13: from Late Latin disputāre to contend verbally, from Latin: to discuss, from _dis- ¹ + putāre to think

Idioms and Phrases

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.

see in dispute.

Synonym Study

See argument.

Example Sentences

“They’re bought by risk managers; claims are handled by claim handlers and disputes are typically decided by judges.”

Read more on Barron's

Social media gives individuals a megaphone in disputes with companies that treat them poorly, while executives use it for consumer insights, customer service and marketing.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Critics dispute air taxi company claims that their services could ease congestion as passengers will still have to take a car to and from the takeoff and landing points.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Yet a continuing dispute over the buses that take visitors up to the mountain-top site recently saw some 1,400 stranded tourists needing to be evacuated.

Read more on BBC

District Judge Eumi K. Lee on Friday issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the San Francisco AI giant from using names that are part of an ongoing trademark dispute.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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