dis‧pute [uncountable and countable]
| 1 | a serious argument or disagreement  Every effort was made to settle the dispute , but without success. A long-running pay dispute is disrupting rail services. The coal industry was plagued by industrial disputes . The police don't usually like to intervene in domestic disputes . The miners were in dispute with their employers over pay. A dispute arose over who was to be the next king. |
| 2 | be beyond dispute if something is beyond dispute, everyone agrees that it is true or that it really happened It is beyond dispute that advances in medicine have enabled people to live longer. |
| 3 | be open to dispute if something is open to dispute, it is not completely certain and not everyone agrees about it His interpretation of the poem is open to dispute. |
| 4 | be in dispute if something is in dispute, people are arguing about it The facts of the case are still in dispute. |
