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argument

n.
US //ˈɑɹɡjəmənt// UK //ˈɑːɡjuːmənt// ar·gu·ment
  1. 1 a verbal dispute (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    an angry disagreement or fight between people using words.

    a verbal dispute or quarrel between individuals, often involving heated emotion.

    Example

    My neighbors had a loud argument about where to park their car.

    Example

    The couple had a heated argument regarding their financial priorities, which resulted in neither party speaking to the other for several days.
    Pitfall
    I had an argument to my brother.
    I had an argument with my brother.

    Use the preposition 'with' to indicate the person you are arguing against.

  2. 2 a reason for a belief (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Academic Logic

    a set of reasons you use to show that your opinion is right.

    a coherent series of reasons, statements, or facts intended to support or establish a point of view.

    Example

    The writer presents a strong argument for why we should protect the oceans.

    Example

    The defense attorney constructed a compelling argument based on forensic evidence to prove his client's innocence.
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  1. 3 computing/math parameter (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a value or piece of information given to a computer program or a math function.

    an independent variable or a value passed to a function or routine to affect its operation.

    Example

    The function requires a number as an argument to calculate the total.

    Example

    The script failed because the developer passed a string as an argument when the method expected an integer.

    Usage

    In programming, 'argument' refers to the actual value passed, while 'parameter' refers to the variable defined in the function.
  2. 4 linguistic structure (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Academic Technical Linguistics

    a word or phrase that completes the meaning of a verb.

    any of the phrases that bear a specific syntactic or semantic relationship to the verb in a clause.

    Example

    In the sentence 'He ate an apple', 'an apple' is an argument of the verb.

    Example

    The professor explained that certain verbs require two arguments to form a grammatically complete sentence.
Etymology 1

Etymology tree Latin arguō Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-məntom Latin -mentum Latin argūmentumder. Anglo-Norman arguementbor. Middle English argument English argument From Middle English argument, from Anglo-Norman and Old French arguement, from Latin argumentum. The English word is analysable as argue + -ment. Doublet of argumentum. Displaced native Old English racu and ġeflit.

Etymology 2

Etymology tree Latin arguō Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-məntom Latin -mentum Latin argūmentum Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin argūmentorder. Old French argumenterbor. Middle English argumenten English argument The obsolete senses are derived from Middle English argumenten (“to argue, discuss; to consider, reflect”), from Old French argumenter (“to argue”), from Latin argūmentārī (“to adduce arguments or proof, prove, reason; to adduce (something) as argument or proof; to conclude”), from argūmentum (“argument (for a position); evidence, proof; point, theme; thesis, topic; plot (in theatre)”) (see further at etymology 1) + -or (the first-person singular present passive indicative of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). The current sense is derived from the noun.

Word family

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