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)
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to doubt the validity, etc, of
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(tr) to seek to win; contest for
-
(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
-
has disputedperfect
-
am disputingprogressive
-
are disputingprogressive
-
is disputingprogressive
-
have been disputingperfect progressive
-
has been disputingperfect progressive
Past
-
disputedsimple
-
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:
Other city officials mostly have remained quiet in the dispute about LA28’s financial reporting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Guy de Maupassant’s novels are worth reading, but few would dispute the claim that his best work appears in his stories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
I would prefer that those funds be protected to the extent legally possible, rather than potentially becoming part of a marital property dispute.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
In late 2021, Zhang was accused of threatening a Northridge family during a property dispute, according to an application for a restraining order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
This is particularly so with dates just around the time that people first came to the Americas, which is one of the reasons the matter is so perennially in dispute.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
But in “Cupertino,” the legal minds at the center of the show are taking on more consequential tech disputes in the courtroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
But can Nepal really bring the two regional giants together to confront a shared climate threat in a region where they have long been locked in bitter territorial disputes?
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Thorough screening and a good lease can reduce problems and help resolve disputes, but nothing is foolproof.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
It is often confused with the International Court of Justice, also based in The Hague, which settles disputes between countries.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
And since no one disputes that there was but one Original Man, the conclusion is clear.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
In Mogadishu, resident Muqtar Hussein said the situation in South West "illustrates the risks of proceeding with disputed elections without political consensus".
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Clarkson disputed the explanation, saying she had pointed to a $15,000 price tag and been told the bird was available.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
Jesse Binnall, a lawyer for Guilfoyle, said the ambassador disputed the authenticity of the messages but declined to provide specifics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
San Jose Water Co., which serves about 1 million customers, disputed the group’s findings, saying it used “erroneously aggregated data to perform an analysis that grabs headlines.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Flipping back to the beginning of the test, Reynie read the very first question again: “The territories of the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region are disputed by what two countries?”
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
If reality truly is nothing more than a hallucination, dream or computer screensaver in the brain, why should we waste time disputing it?
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
The CMS system had added the outstanding amount, and some arrears he had been disputing, to his continuing payments to come up with the new figure.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Becerra has defended his record at HHS, arguing that the Trump administration had left the agency ill-equipped to care for so many children and disputing the number of unaccompanied minors who were “lost.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Hims & Hers is disputing the claims and said it would defend itself in court.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
I ain’t disputing that I’m a whole lot smarter than most other children who’re near ’bout twelve years old, but I couldn’t for anything see how come a river made so much difference.
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
