Trivia Time

Which 19th-century literary work was issued in monthly installments by its publisher?

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issue

American  

[ish-oo, is-yoo] / ˈɪʃ u, ˈɪs ju /

noun

• issues
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

• issues,
  present (3rd person singular)
• issued,
  past participle,  past
• issuing
  present participle

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)

• issues,
  present (3rd person singular)
• issued,
  past participle,  past
• issuing
  present participle

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

17. 1. under discussion

    2. in disagreement

18. to compel decision on some matter

19. 1. to join in controversy

    2. to submit an issue for adjudication

20. to disagree

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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)

issue More Idioms  

1. see at issue; take issue with.

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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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• issues
  plural

Participles

• issuing
  present
• issued
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• issue
  simple
• issues
  simple
• have issued
  perfect
• has issued
  perfect
• am issuing
  progressive
• are issuing
  progressive
• is issuing
  progressive
• have been issuing
  perfect progressive
• has been issuing
  perfect progressive

Past

• issued
  simple
• had issued
  perfect
• was issuing
  progressive
• were issuing
  progressive
• had been issuing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will issue
  simple
• will have issued
  perfect
• will be issuing
  progressive
• will have been issuing
  perfect progressive

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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; see exit ¹

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Explanation

One copy of "Celebrities are Cool" magazine is an issue. It is issued, or put out, by the publisher. You and your mother may argue over the issue, or topic, of whether or not you should read it. The original meaning of the word issue was to put something out. If a celebrity issues a statement or the post office issues new stamps, they put them out for the public. Likewise, an issue is a current topic, sometimes controversial, that is being discussed. Politicians often say they want to talk about the issues (and not their personal lives!). You might hear someone say, "He's got issues" about a person who has some problems, usually emotional ones, but this is a very new use for the word.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

issue issues issued issuing

A person familiar with the matter said the issue stemmed from a security flaw in DebugBear, a performance-monitoring vendor used by Polymarket.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

To remedy the issue, your county elections office will provide you with a form to fill out and return completed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Another issue that businesses have faced: The economy has been hit by a series of shocks of the sort that used to come around much more infrequently.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

Rob told the BBC he was pleased the government had addressed the issue in the Budget as this would mean others in his situation would not face a tax bill.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

“The only issue will be dust. Dust will sometimes obscure our view. And too much dust is dangerous for us. We must avoid dust storms.”

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Global retail motorcycle shipments fell 8% to 33,616 units as part of Harley’s plan to ease dealer inventory issues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

In their filmmaking, Schoenbrun sometimes struggles to apply broader themes within a minute-to-minute narrative, creating pacing issues that reveal a dissonance between intention and execution.

From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026

Congress has never let Social Security falter or skip a benefit, but the federal government hasn’t voted on any legislation that would resolve the program’s financing issues.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

While recent plenums focused on economic reforms or social and development issues, party discipline took centre stage at this week's gathering.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Making strong statements about their womanhood helped them to cope with these issues.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Parking management company LAZ Parking, for example, issued pre-layoff notices to employees when it expected the train to open in the fall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

The company issued a more cautious outlook on top-line growth for 2026, citing challenging conditions in Germany and supply constraints for biosimilar drugs in European and international markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Still, Microsoft posted forecast-topping revenue and profit, fuelled by its Azure cloud computing division, and Oracle issued a healthy revenue forecast.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

In September 2025, a Kenyan High Court issued an arrest warrant for a British national after prosecutors presented evidence they said justified bringing murder charges.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

The window creaked as I eased it up, and the smell of horses and other farm odors hit me, right before the wind issued a warning.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

During the quarter Alphabet raised $28.7 billion by selling bonds and $12.4 billion by issuing new shares to help pay for its AI ambitions.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

There’s a catch, however: It was issuing the same warning a year ago.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

The office’s work ranged from helping secure events like the Super Bowl to protecting chemical plants to issuing cybersecurity warnings to the private sector and the public.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026

Storm Austen is the first to sweep across the country, with the Met Office issuing a a yellow warning for rain, external in central and eastern areas from 06:00 on Friday until midnight.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Ogden pointed his wand at his own nose, which was still issuing large amounts of what looked like yellow pus, and the flow stopped at once.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

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Related Words

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