| debate | |
| 1. n. An argument, or discussion, usually in an ordered or formal setting, often with more than two people, generally ending with a vote or other decision. | |
| After a four-hour debate, the committee voted to table the motion. | |
| 2. n. An informal and spirited but generally civil discussion of opposing views. | |
| The debate over the age of the universe is thousands of years old. | |
| There was a bit of a debate over who should pay for the damaged fence. | |
| 3. n. Discussion of opposing views. | |
| There has been considerable debate concerning exactly how to format these articles. | |
| 4. n. (frequently in the French form débat) A type of literary composition, taking the form of a discussion or disputation, commonly found in the vernacular medieval poetry of many European countries, as we | |
| 5. n. (obsolete) Strife, discord. | |
| 6. v. To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena. | |
| 7. v. (obsolete, intransitive) To fight. | |
| 8. v. (obsolete, transitive) To engage in combat for; to strive for. | |
| 9. v. To consider (to oneself), to think over, to attempt to decide | |
