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.
  • Of course, there is the debate of strength of those games.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 13 Jan. 2021
  • Maybe the gun debate is bringing out the worst in some of us.
    — Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, 30 Mar. 2018
  • This is where some of the debate over the need for boosters comes in.
    — Maggie Fox, CNN, 18 Aug. 2021
  • The debate is over whether the controls are strong enough.
    — Hope Yen, The Seattle Times, 14 Jan. 2019
  • The debate absence gives Kobach room to rule the stage.
    — Hunter Woodall, kansascity, 22 Feb. 2018
  • The same is true of the climate change debate, in many ways.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Oct. 2019
  • Erasing the flash point of that debate is not about to end it.
    — Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 Jan. 2022
  • The debate on the merits of the month occur every year.
    — Ellen McGirt, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2020
  • Some argue the debate is the wrong one to be having at all.
    — Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 6 Feb. 2020
  • The Silver State is once again at the heart of the debate.
    — Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2023
  • Ali has been a member of the school’s speech and debate team for four years.
    — cleveland, 23 Sep. 2021
  • But that should be the start of the debate, not its conclusion.
    — The Economist, 12 July 2018
  • 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
  • If not for his slight stature, there might not even be a debate.
    — Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2023
  • There is that old debate about staying true to the board and reaching for a prospect.
    — Calvin Watkins, Dallas News, 27 Apr. 2020
  • Even the official death toll is a point of fierce debate.
    — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2022
  • Also up for debate: whether to change the church’s name.
    — Jonathan Pitts, baltimoresun.com, 12 Sep. 2019
  • 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
  • What better way to spend a group date than to have the guys give a rousing debate?
    — Becca Kufrin, PEOPLE.com, 9 July 2018
  • But the group agreed to schedule a broader debate as soon as next month.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Oct. 2023
  • There's no debate for who should take the top spot in our rankings.
    — Michael Shapiro, Chron, 22 Nov. 2022
  • But the move has nonetheless sparked debate over whether this amounts to a bailout.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN, 31 Mar. 2023
  • But the debate was fierce enough to pack public meetings.
    — Alex Hulvalchick, Chicago Tribune, 11 Dec. 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
  • 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
  • There’s a lot of debate about whether buybacks are a good thing or a bad thing.
    — Emily Stewart, Vox, 22 Mar. 2018
  • But the debate is how much room for improvement is there?
    — Sam Blum, Dallas News, 20 Nov. 2020
  • Narvaez said the ethics code should not be used to stifle debate.
    — Kevin Krause, Dallas News, 10 Sep. 2021
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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
  • 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
  • Let others debate where the two truly stand on the list of greats.
    — Dan Gelston, Star Tribune, 14 Aug. 2020
  • Our staff weighs in and debates the best team not in this week's poll.
    — The Si Staff, SI.com, 24 Sep. 2019
  • Whether they can be enforced varies by state and is open to debate.
    — Time, 16 June 2020
  • The culture is now debating who gets to tell the stories.
    — Ariston Anderson, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Aug. 2019
  • Hobbs has refused to debate her and does not hold as many large events.
    — Jess Bidgood, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Nov. 2022
  • Like the po’ boy, the best boudin is hotly debated in this neck of the woods.
    — New Orleans Tourism, Bon Appetit, 11 Sep. 2017
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • The two candidates could never agree on when and where to debate.
    — Gilbert Garcia, ExpressNews.com, 4 July 2020
  • Alone, the women debate the role of passion in a happy life.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2021
  • Preview Let others debate where the two truly stand on the list of greats.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 15 Aug. 2020
  • No one can debate that, and plenty of people don’t drink enough of it.
    — Madge Maril, Harper's BAZAAR, 10 May 2021
  • 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
  • More brows to debate over: What (brow) dreams may come...
    — Lindsey V Thompson, Allure, 18 May 2018
  • Whether college athletes deserve to draw a salary is open to debate.
    — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 11 July 2020
  • As pundits debate whether or not we are headed there, now is the time to prepare.
    — Jim Berryhill, Forbes, 6 July 2022
  • This is not some boring talkie movie where people sit in a room and debate the issue.
    — Rebecca Keegan, HWD, 3 July 2018

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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