What does “debate” mean?
- 1
nouna discussion in which people give different opinions on a subject
There is a lot of debate about the new tax.
- 2
verbto discuss a subject formally, giving different opinions
Lawmakers debated the bill for hours.
Debate at a glance
- Part of speech
- noun & verb
- CEFR level
- B1 (intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /dɪˈbeɪt/ · dih-BAYT
How to use “debate” correctly
“Debate” is a transitive verb: “debate the issue”, not “debate about the issue”.
Common phrases with “debate”
- public debate
- heated debate
- open to debate
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- discussion
- argument
“debate” is on these word lists
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