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Synonyms

issue

American  
[ish-oo, is-yoo] / ˈɪʃ u, ˈɪs yu /

noun

  1. the act of sending out or putting forth; promulgation; distribution.

    the issue of food and blankets to flood victims.

  2. something that is printed or published and distributed, especially a given number of a periodical.

    Have you seen the latest issue of the magazine?

    Synonyms:
    printing, edition
  3. something that is sent out or put forth in any form.

  4. a quantity of something that is officially offered for sale or put into circulation at one time.

    a new issue of commemorative stamps;

    a new bond issue.

  5. a point in question or a matter that is in dispute, as between contending parties in an action at law.

    Synonyms:
    crux
  6. a point, matter, or dispute, the decision of which is of special or public importance.

    the political issues.

    Synonyms:
    question, problem
  7. a point, the decision of which determines a matter.

    The real issue in the strike was the right to bargain collectively.

    Synonyms:
    question, problem, crux
  8. a point at which a matter is ready for decision.

    to bring a case to an issue.

  9. something proceeding from any source, as a product, effect, result, or consequence.

    His words were the issue of an intelligent man.

  10. Often issues

    1. a personal or emotional problem.

      I had issues that prevented me from doing well in school.

    2. any problem or difficulty.

      Sorry I'm late—I had an issue with parking.

  11. the ultimate result, event, or outcome of a proceeding, affair, etc..

    the issue of a contest.

    Synonyms:
    end, conclusion, upshot
  12. a distribution of food rations, clothing, equipment, or ammunition to a number of officers or enlisted soldiers, or to a military unit.

  13. offspring; progeny.

    to die without issue.

  14. a going, coming, passing, or flowing out.

    free issue and entry.

  15. a place or means of egress; outlet or exit.

  16. something that comes out, as an outflowing stream.

  17. Pathology.

    1. a discharge of blood, pus, or the like.

    2. an incision, ulcer, or the like, emitting such a discharge.

  18. English Law. issues, the profits from land or other property.

  19. the printing of copies of a work from the original setting of type with some slight changes.

    the third issue of the poem.

  20. Obsolete. a proceeding or action.


verb (used with object)

issued, issuing
  1. to put out; deliver for use, sale, etc.; put into circulation.

  2. to mint, print, or publish for sale or distribution.

    to issue a new coin;

    to issue a reprint of a book.

  3. to give or grant officially to a particular person or group.

    The United States is the first country to issue a patent for an animal developed using biological techniques.

  4. to distribute (food, clothing, equipment, etc.) to members of the military, employees, students, etc.

  5. to send out; discharge; emit.

verb (used without object)

issued, issuing
  1. to go, pass, or flow out; come forth; emerge.

    to issue forth to battle.

    Antonyms:
    return
  2. to be sent, put forth, or distributed authoritatively or publicly, as a legal writ or money.

  3. to be published, as a book.

  4. to originate or proceed from any source.

    Synonyms:
    spring, arise, emanate, flow
  5. to arise as a result or consequence; result.

    a reaction that issues from the stimulus.

    Synonyms:
    ensue
  6. Chiefly Law. to proceed as offspring, or be born or descended.

  7. Chiefly Law. to come as a yield or profit, as from land.

  8. Archaic. to have the specified outcome, result, etc. (often followed byin ).

  9. Obsolete. to end; terminate.

idioms

  1. at issue,

    1. being disputed or under discussion.

    2. being at opposite viewpoints; in disagreement.

      Medical experts are still at issue over the proper use of tranquilizers.

  2. join issue,

    1. to enter into controversy or take exception to.

    2. to submit an issue jointly for legal decision.

  3. take issue, to disagree; dispute.

    He took issue with me on my proposal for a new advertising campaign.

issue British  
/ ˈɪʃuː, ˈɪsjuː /

noun

  1. the act of sending or giving out something; supply; delivery

  2. something issued; an edition of stamps, a magazine, etc

  3. the number of identical items, such as banknotes or shares in a company, that become available at a particular time

  4. the act of emerging; outflow; discharge

  5. something flowing out, such as a river

  6. a place of outflow; outlet

  7. the descendants of a person; offspring; progeny

  8. a topic of interest or discussion

  9. an important subject requiring a decision

  10. an outcome or consequence; result

  11. pathol

    1. a suppurating sore

    2. discharge from a wound

  12. law the matter remaining in dispute between the parties to an action after the pleadings

  13. the yield from or profits arising out of land or other property

  14. military the allocation of items of government stores, such as food, clothing, and ammunition

  15. library science

    1. the system for recording current loans

    2. the number of books loaned in a specified period

  16. obsolete an act, deed, or proceeding

    1. under discussion

    2. in disagreement

  17. to compel decision on some matter

    1. to join in controversy

    2. to submit an issue for adjudication

  18. to disagree

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to come forth or emerge or cause to come forth or emerge

  2. to publish or deliver (a newspaper, magazine, etc)

  3. (tr) to make known or announce

  4. (intr) to originate or proceed

  5. (intr) to be a consequence; result

  6. to end or terminate

  7. (tr)

    1. to give out or allocate (equipment, a certificate, etc) officially to someone

    2. (foll by with) to supply officially (with)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
issue More Idioms  

Usage

What are other ways to say issue? To issue is to go, pass, or flow out. How is issue different from emanate and emerge? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

  • issueless adjective
  • issuer noun
  • outissue verb (used with object)
  • preissue noun
  • self-issuing adjective
  • underissue noun

Etymology

Origin of issue

First recorded in 1275–1325; from Middle English, from Middle French: “place or passage out”; from Old French (e)issue, from unattested Vulgar Latin exūta, noun use of feminine of unattested exūtus, Latin exitus “act or means of going out,” for the noun senses; from Middle English issuen, derivative of the noun, or from Middle French, Old French (e)issu, past participle of issir “to go out” (ultimately derived from Latin exīre ) for the verb senses; exit 1

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.

All of these decisions came in response to emergency appeals, resolved with terse, unsigned orders that were issued outside the court’s regular process of holding arguments and writing detailed opinions that explain the justices’ reasoning.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wirun's pollution worries led him to a panel discussion in Bangkok on the issue in 2019, and the conversations evolved into CAN, which has spent several years advancing clean air legislation.

From Barron's

Associated noise-related issues range from unruly crowds to honking horns in overcrowded parking lots.

From Barron's

To reassure investors, Strategy issued new shares to create a $1.44 billion reserve to fund dividend and interest rate payments.

From Barron's

“This is a significant issue, right? How quickly does this end?”

From The Wall Street Journal