Meaning & use
core issues
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
The most important problems or subjects that people must deal with or discuss.
Grammar: Plural noun; use with plural verbs: 'The core issues are...'. For one, say 'a core issue'.
Patterns
- core issues of something
- address core issues
- discuss core issues
The meeting focused on the core issues: budget, staffing, and safety.
We need to identify the core issues before we can find solutions.
Climate change and inequality are core issues in the election.
Word forms
| singular | core issue |
|---|
Common combinations
- address core issues
- The new policy aims to address core issues in healthcare.
- core issues facing
- She wrote about the core issues facing young workers.
- get to the core issues
- Let's stop arguing about details and get to the core issues.
- core issues at stake
- The debate highlighted the core issues at stake.
Synonyms and how they differ
- key issues
- Very similar, but 'key' emphasizes importance, while 'core' suggests the central, foundational part.
- main problems
- More general and less formal; 'core issues' often implies deeper, underlying problems.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: core issues or core values?
core issues vs core values
'Core values' are beliefs that guide behavior; 'core issues' are problems or topics to discuss.
Practice
The committee spent hours discussing the _____ of the proposal, such as funding and timing.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a plural noun because it lists multiple topics, so 'core issues' is correct. 'Core issue' is singular and would not match the plural list; the other options are not grammatical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “core issues”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.