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issue

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noun British English pronunciation: issue /ˈɪʃuː/ British English pronunciation: issue /ˈɪsjuː/ 
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singularissue
pluralissues
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  1. 1
    [countable] a subject that people discuss or argue about, especially relating to society, politics etc

    It's a website devoted to environmental issues.

    contentious/controversial/thorny issue (=one that causes a lot of argument):

    Abortion is always a controversial issue.

    big/key/major issue:

    Public education was one of the biggest issues in the election campaign.

    raise an issue (=start to discuss it):

    The subject of cloning raises complex ethical issues.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of issue
    1. a.
      a problem that needs to be considered
      not be an issue:

      The reliability of the statistics is not an issue.

      issue about/around:

      There were issues about the way the department was organized.

      big issue:

      A big issue in the region is that teachers are so underpaid.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of issue
  2. 2
    [countable] a magazine that is published at a particular time

    The article appeared in the November issue.

    These tips appeared in recent issues of The Practical Gardener.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of issue
  4. 4
    [uncountable] formal the act of officially giving something to someone

    the issue of visitors' permits

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of issue
    1. a.
      something that is given to every member of a group

      She was wearing the heavy black jacket that was standard police issue.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of issue
  5. 5
    [uncountable] legal someone's children

    He died without issue (=with no children).

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of issue

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This is the British English definition of issue. View American English definition of issue.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

View the pronunciation for issue.

 

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