# argument

/ˈɑɹɡjəmənt/ (US) · /ˈɑːɡjuːmənt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/argument
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Senses

### 1. a verbal dispute

noun · CEFR A2

an angry disagreement or fight between people using words.

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

- My neighbors had a loud argument about where to park their car.
- The couple had a heated argument regarding their financial priorities, which resulted in neither party speaking to the other for several days.

### 2. a reason for a belief

noun · CEFR B1 · Academic

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

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

- The writer presents a strong argument for why we should protect the oceans.
- The defense attorney constructed a compelling argument based on forensic evidence to prove his client's innocence.

### 3. computing/math parameter

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

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

### 4. linguistic structure

noun · CEFR C2 · Academic · Technical

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

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

- In the sentence 'He ate an apple', 'an apple' is an argument of the verb.
- The professor explained that certain verbs require two arguments to form a grammatically complete sentence.

## Examples

- They had a loud argument about whose turn it was to cook.
- The lawyer presented a strong argument to the jury to prove that his client was innocent.
- While the initial disagreement seemed trivial, it eventually evolved into a sophisticated philosophical argument concerning the nature of personal responsibility and collective ethics.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.