disputedi·spute /dɪˈspjuːt, ˈdɪspjuːt/ noun1[countableC, uncountableU]HUMAN RESOURCES a serious disagreement between two groups of people, especially a disagreement between workers and their employers in which the workers take action to protestThe amount of working time lost through disputes and stoppages has fallen dramatically.
a pay dispute involving 450 staff
dispute betweenSeveral disputes have broken out between businesses competing for the best locations.
dispute overtheir long-running dispute over copyright
→ demarcation dispute → industrial dispute → labour dispute → trade dispute2be in dispute (with somebody) if two groups of people are in dispute, they are involved in a disagreementThe EU is in dispute with the German government over the level of their production subsidies.