debates

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of debate.

   The history of parliament is full of heated debates over taxation.

   Two of the scheduled debates were canceled because of the storm.

   Note

   The plural only fits the countable uses of the noun: heated debates in parliament, televised debates between candidates, or the medieval debates in which poets staged a dispute in verse. When the meaning is simply discussion of opposing views, the noun is uncountable: there was much debate, not many debates. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb, and a determiner or adjective in front of it marks the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of debate.

   The committee debates each proposal carefully before holding a vote.

   Whenever the topic comes up, she debates it passionately with her colleagues.

   Note

   The -s form goes with a singular subject: she debates, the committee debates. Two constructions are worth telling apart. With with, it means arguing against someone. With a question as its object, it can mean weighing something privately, with no opponent at all, as in she debates whether to accept. The older meanings of fighting, or striving for something, are obsolete and survive only in old texts.

   He debates whether to take the job or stay where he is.

   Every Friday she debates politics with her uncle over dinner.

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