debate

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/dɪˈbeɪt/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/dɪˈbeɪt/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(di bāt′)

Inflections of 'debate' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
debates
v 3rd person singular
debating
v pres p
debated
v past
debated
v past p

Collocations for "debate"


Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "debate" in context.

WordReference English Collocations © 2026

debate

ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.
n
  1. a [cultural, political, social] debate
  2. a debate on [politics, war, social issues]
  3. a debate on the [candidates, elections, referendum]
  4. the presidential debates
  5. a [heated, lively, civilized, preliminary, controversial] debate
  6. a [live, radio, television, studio, public] debate
  7. a [four-way, face-to-face] debate
  8. hold a debate [on, about, concerning]
  9. has [called, asked] for a debate (on)
  10. has been the subject of (some) debate (for years)
  11. there is a bit of debate over
  12. there's no debate that
  13. the [matter, issue, point] is not up for debate
  14. well, that's up for debate
  15. is a matter of [considerable, enormous, popular] debate
  16. the debate could [last, go on] for hours
  17. has been chosen to moderate the debate
  18. after some debate, they [made their decision, gave their verdict]
  19. a debate on [whether, how, who, what]
  20. a debate [on, over, about] who [should, has]
  21. a debate in [Parliament, Congress, the Senate]
v
  1. debate the [issue, topic, subject] (of)
  2. debate [the issue] with [her, each other]
  3. I am debating whether (or not) to [go, leave, come]
  4. has been debated at length
  5. has long been debated by [historians, scholars, experts]
  6. are debating the [bill, motion, law]
n as adj
  1. the debate [agenda, questions, topics, moderator]
  2. on a debate team
  3. in the debate club
'debate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
accountability - actor - argue - arise - aside - aspect - assemble - base - catalyst - cause - center - climate - commence - considerable - corner - earnest - engage - engaged - ensue - ensuing - fierce - floor - forthcoming - forum - fuel - further - generate - have - heated - high school - informed - interest - join - launch - lengthy - literacy - lively - long - meaningful - medium - meet - merit - method - muscle - noteworthy - obscure - one - ongoing - open - opposite

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