Meaning & use
dispute
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Meanings
nouncountable
A serious disagreement or argument between people, groups or countries, often one that lasts.
Grammar: Often used with over or between: a dispute over land.
Patterns
- a dispute over something
- a dispute between people
The neighbors are in a dispute over the fence.
A pay dispute closed the factory for a week.
The two countries settled their border dispute.
verbtransitive
To say that a statement or claim is not true or not right.
Grammar: Takes an object: dispute a claim, dispute the bill.
Patterns
- dispute something
- dispute that something is true
No one disputes that the climate is changing.
She disputed the charge on her card.
The company disputed the findings of the report.
verbtransitive or intransitiveformal
To argue or compete for control or ownership of something.
Grammar: Used mainly in formal or sporting writing: dispute a title.
Patterns
- dispute something with someone
- dispute over something
The two teams disputed the cup in a tense final.
The brothers disputed with each other over the farm.
Word forms
| plural | disputes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | disputes |
| past tense | disputed |
| past participle | disputed |
| -ing form | disputing |
Common combinations
- settle a dispute
- The judge settled the dispute in one day.
- in dispute
- The ownership of the painting is still in dispute.
- beyond dispute
- His honesty is beyond dispute.
- resolve a dispute
- Mediation can resolve a dispute quickly.
- dispute a claim
- The airline disputed the passenger's claim.
- labor dispute
- A labor dispute delayed all trains.
Synonyms and how they differ
- argument
- Argument is a more general and often short exchange, whereas dispute can be longer and formal.
- quarrel
- Quarrel is more personal and emotional, often between people who know each other.
- conflict
- Conflict is broader and may involve fighting, not just disagreement.
- question
- As a verb, question means to doubt something, while dispute means to say that it is wrong.
Opposites
Word family
- disputable adjective
- open to debate
- indisputable adjective
- too clear to argue about
- disputant noun
- a person involved in a dispute
- disputation noun
- a formal debate
Commonly confused: dispute or dispatch?
dispute vs dispatch
Dispatch means to send off quickly, while dispute is a disagreement. They only look alike at the start.
Practice
Which sentence uses dispute as a verb meaning to say something is untrue?
Choose one answer.
Disputes that she won fairly is a verb, meaning nobody denies it. The others use dispute as a noun for a disagreement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dispute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.