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

• disputer noun
• disputeless adjective
• 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

The flare-up over export controls echoes a dispute that Washington and Beijing supposedly resolved months ago.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

In their deeply researched biography, “Irascible: The Combative Life of Douglas Cooper, Collector and Friend of Picasso,” Adrian Clark and Richard Calvocoressi do not dispute what they call the “terrible baseline” of Cooper’s personality.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The company also faced tax disputes and the knock-on effects of a geopolitical falling out between India and China.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

More than 6,000 members of Metropolitan Police staff are due to take industrial action in a dispute over pay.

Read more on BBC

Airbnb disputes its impact on rental prices, and many landlords have criticised the 90-day legislation, saying it imposes too many controls.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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