Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense disputes, present participle disputing, past tense, past participle disputed
1. variable noun
A dispute is an argument or disagreement between people or groups.
They have won previous pay disputes with the government. [+ with/over]
Negotiators failed to resolve the bitter dispute between the European Community andthe United States over cutting subsides to farmers.
[Also + between]
2. verb
If you dispute a fact, statement, or theory, you say that it is incorrect or untrue.
He disputed the allegations. [VERB noun]
Nobody disputed that Davey was clever. [VERB that]
Some economists disputed whether consumer spending is as strong as the figures suggest. [VERB wh]
Synonyms: contest, question, challenge, deny More Synonyms of dispute
3. verb
When people dispute something, they fight for control or ownership of it. You can also say that one group of people dispute something with another group.
Russia and Ukraine have been disputing the ownership of the fleet. [VERB noun]
Fishermen from Bristol disputed fishing rights with the Danes. [VERB noun + with]
...a disputed border region. [VERB-ed]
[Also V n (non-recip)]
4.
See in dispute
5.
See in dispute
More Synonyms of dispute
dispute in British English
verb (dɪˈspjuːt)
1.
to argue, debate, or quarrel about (something)
2. (tr; may take a clause as object)
to doubt the validity, etc, of
3. (transitive)
to seek to win; contest for
4. (transitive)
to struggle against; resist
noun (dɪˈspjuːt, ˈdɪspjuːt)
5.
an argument or quarrel
Derived forms
disputer (disˈputer)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Late Latin disputāre to contend verbally, from Latin: to discuss, from dis-1 + putāre to think
dispute in American English
(dɪˈspjut)
verb intransitiveWord forms: disˈputed or disˈputing
1.
to argue; debate
2.
to quarrel
verb transitive
3.
to argue or debate (a question); discuss pro and con
4.
to question the truth of; doubt
5.
to oppose in any way; resist
6.
to fight for; contest
to dispute every foot of ground
noun
7.
a disputing; argument; debate
8.
a quarrel
9. Obsolete
a fight
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈargument, disˈcuss
Idioms:
beyond dispute
in dispute
Word origin
ME disputen < OFr desputer < L disputare, lit., to compute, discuss, hence argue about < dis-, apart + putare, to think: see putative
Examples of 'dispute' in a sentence
dispute
There is no dispute about the sickening facts of the case.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It can take years and businesses must pay the disputed bills in the meantime.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Talks to resolve the dispute were unsuccessful yesterday.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The network has been hit by staff shortages and one of the most bitter industrial disputes in years.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They claim the disputes are about pay, conditions and passenger safety.
The Sun (2016)
Their argument that the dispute with Southern is about safety is bogus.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
That's not to mention clauses whose parentage and application is a matter of legal dispute.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Southern services have been disrupted for months due to an industrial dispute and 14 days of strikes are planned.
The Sun (2016)
Further claims in the long-running dispute could add up to 5bn.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There are three new stands, but because of a dispute with the government, they are not in use.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There were disputes about money and missing equipment.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The two neighbours are involved in a poisonous dispute over a group of islands.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Retailers and property landlords have been locked in a bitter dispute about rent payments.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This will not help find a sustainable resolution to the dispute.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The latter has also been the subject of a legal dispute.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Each element of the argument has been disputed.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The international evidence on free schools is also much disputed.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Union officials will meet the firm today to try to resolve the dispute.
The Sun (2015)
Any valuables found could be subject to lengthy and complex ownership disputes.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It has filed dozens of lawsuits over pay disputes with the national oil company.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The only people who could fight civil disputes were the rich or those who qualified for legal aid.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The service will allow an extra month to attempt to resolve the dispute before people hit the deadline for making their claim.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We're supposed to be a nation of animal lovers but this disputes this theory.
The Sun (2011)
The two biggest classroom unions are in dispute with the Government over school reforms.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Sometimes we may get into disputes with consumers that don't get resolved.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
There is a dispute about whether A2 has contributed to that.
The Sun (2015)
The group had the feel of a paramilitary unit when it used aggressive tactics to deal with the industrial disputes of the 1970s.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
But, as in a beleaguered fortress, all disputes and disagreements stop at the wall.
Peter F. Drucker MANAGEMENT: task, responsibilities, practices (1974)
In other languages
dispute
British English: dispute NOUN
A dispute is an argument or disagreement between people or groups.
They have won previous pay disputes with the government.
American English: dispute
Brazilian Portuguese: disputa
Chinese: 争议
European Spanish: disputa
French: conflit
German: Auseinandersetzung
Italian: controversia
Japanese: 論争
Korean: 논쟁
European Portuguese: disputa
Latin American Spanish: disputa
British English: dispute VERB
If you dispute a fact, statement, or theory, you say that it is incorrect or untrue.
He disputed the allegations.
American English: dispute
Brazilian Portuguese: contestar
Chinese: 争论
European Spanish: cuestionar
French: contester
German: bestreiten
Italian: contestare
Japanese: 反論する
Korean: 반박하다
European Portuguese: contestar
Latin American Spanish: cuestionar
All related terms of 'dispute'
in dispute
If two or more people or groups are in dispute , they are arguing or disagreeing about something.
pay dispute
a disagreement between workers and employers concerning salary
trade dispute
a dispute between workers and their employer
beyond dispute
not open to dispute or question ; settled
border dispute
a disagreement between countries about where the border between them should be drawn
boundary dispute
dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
frontier dispute
a conflict concerning a frontier between countries and which usually involves those countries
industrial dispute
a disagreement between employees and employer , often leading to strike action