How to Use debate in a Sentence

debate

1 of 2 noun
Definition of debatenext
Synonyms for debatenext
  • The meaning of the text has been the subject of considerable debate among scholars for many years.
  • The candidates participated in several debates before the election was held.
  • The Silver State is once again at the heart of the debate.
    — Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2023
  • Of course, there is the debate of strength of those games.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 13 Jan. 2021
  • The debate absence gives Kobach room to rule the stage.
    — Hunter Woodall, kansascity, 22 Feb. 2018
  • This is where some of the debate over the need for boosters comes in.
    — Maggie Fox, CNN, 18 Aug. 2021
  • The same is true of the climate change debate, in many ways.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Oct. 2019
  • Maybe the gun debate is bringing out the worst in some of us.
    — Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, 30 Mar. 2018
  • The debate is over whether the controls are strong enough.
    — Hope Yen, The Seattle Times, 14 Jan. 2019
  • Erasing the flash point of that debate is not about to end it.
    — Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 Jan. 2022
  • There’s plenty of room for debate as to whether the Fed is on the right track here.
    — Emily Stewart, Vox, 18 Dec. 2018
  • Ali has been a member of the school’s speech and debate team for four years.
    — cleveland, 23 Sep. 2021
  • Now, Foti's book has added a new wrinkle to the debate.
    — NBC News, 4 Apr. 2021
  • So, the debate seems to boil down to this: is a half a loaf better than none?
    — Barbara Peterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Nov. 2018
  • The debate on the merits of the month occur every year.
    — Ellen McGirt, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2020
  • Also up for debate: whether to change the church’s name.
    — Jonathan Pitts, baltimoresun.com, 12 Sep. 2019
  • Some argue the debate is the wrong one to be having at all.
    — Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 6 Feb. 2020
  • But that should be the start of the debate, not its conclusion.
    — The Economist, 12 July 2018
  • In his dream campaign, Christie and Trump end up on the same debate stage.
    — Kara Voght, Washington Post, 12 July 2023
  • If not for his slight stature, there might not even be a debate.
    — Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2023
  • The debate, which will be livestreamed, is scheduled for 7 p.m.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 28 Sep. 2022
  • Whether central banks have the right tools to ease the pain in this case is up for debate as well.
    — Julia Horowitz, CNN, 9 Mar. 2020
  • Here is an honest look at the trade-offs on each side of the great work from home debate.
    — Curt Steinhorst, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2022
  • And that only helps his case in the greatest-of-all-time debate.
    — Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, 15 May 2020
  • Jost then turned to Trump, who has challenged Biden to a debate.
    — William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2024
  • There's no debate for who should take the top spot in our rankings.
    — Michael Shapiro, Chron, 22 Nov. 2022
  • There is that old debate about staying true to the board and reaching for a prospect.
    — Calvin Watkins, Dallas News, 27 Apr. 2020
  • There’s a lot of debate about whether buybacks are a good thing or a bad thing.
    — Emily Stewart, Vox, 22 Mar. 2018
  • The measure passed through the Senate along party lines and has moved to the House for debate.
    — Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
  • Of course this debate is not a new one, nor has it been confined to video games.
    — Jeremy Reimer, Ars Technica, 28 Nov. 2020
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debate

2 of 2 verb
  • Scholars have been debating the meaning of the text for years.
  • The students debated for an hour.
  • Whether or not the tax cuts benefit the lower classes is still hotly debated among economists.
  • The energy bill is currently being debated in Congress.
  • The President debated his challenger in front of a live audience on Tuesday.
  • The House is set to debate and vote on the bill later in the day.
    — Grace Segers, CBS News, 25 June 2020
  • Few would now debate that the pair could be called friends.
    — Ethan Brooks, The Atlantic, 14 Dec. 2023
  • Quite what lies at the root of that respect is open to debate.
    — New York Times, 26 Nov. 2021
  • Like the po’ boy, the best boudin is hotly debated in this neck of the woods.
    — New Orleans Tourism, Bon Appetit, 11 Sep. 2017
  • Our staff weighs in and debates the best team not in this week's poll.
    — The Si Staff, SI.com, 24 Sep. 2019
  • How many of them turned up at the polls later is open to debate.
    — Michael Wines, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2020
  • And that could revive awareness of and debate about the tax gap.
    — Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 14 Aug. 2022
  • The Senate will also need time to debate and vote on the bill.
    — Compiled Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 28 Feb. 2021
  • More brows to debate over: What (brow) dreams may come...
    — Lindsey V Thompson, Allure, 18 May 2018
  • Let others debate where the two truly stand on the list of greats.
    — Dan Gelston, Star Tribune, 14 Aug. 2020
  • The House will now debate Rep. Matt Gaetz’s motion to vacate the chair.
    — WSJ, 4 Oct. 2023
  • Whether they can be enforced varies by state and is open to debate.
    — Time, 16 June 2020
  • Then again, if the Bulls are debating on this pick, the lottery went awry.
    — K.c. Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 11 May 2018
  • Hobbs has refused to debate her and does not hold as many large events.
    — Jess Bidgood, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Nov. 2022
  • The culture is now debating who gets to tell the stories.
    — Ariston Anderson, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Aug. 2019
  • There’s a scene in which the kids debate the town council about its abuse of law and order.
    — Wesley Morris, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2020
  • But these are quibbles that will be fun to debate in the coming weeks.
    — Julie Washington, cleveland, 18 Dec. 2019
  • Their work has been in the spotlight more as people debate whether to take the vaccines.
    — al, 24 Feb. 2021
  • Ryan and Vance agreed to debate – more or less – nearly three weeks ago.
    — Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, 21 Sep. 2022
  • No one can debate that, and plenty of people don’t drink enough of it.
    — Madge Maril, Harper's BAZAAR, 10 May 2021
  • Preview Let others debate where the two truly stand on the list of greats.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 15 Aug. 2020
  • In fact, where there had been debate, there was now no longer debate.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
  • There will be much more time to debate all of this and more as June approaches.
    — Rahat Huq, Chron, 11 Apr. 2022
  • Alone, the women debate the role of passion in a happy life.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2021
  • The two candidates could never agree on when and where to debate.
    — Gilbert Garcia, ExpressNews.com, 4 July 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'debate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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