argument

 
Pronunciation: /ˈɑːgjʊm(ə)nt/

noun

  • 1an exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one: I’ve had an argument with my father heated arguments over public spending [mass noun]: there was some argument about the decision
  • 2a reason or set of reasons given in support of an idea, action or theory: there is a strong argument for submitting a formal appeal [with clause]: he rejected the argument that keeping the facility would be costly
  • 3 Mathematics & Logic an independent variable associated with a function or proposition and determining its value. For example, in the expression y = F(x1, x2), the arguments of the function F are x1 and x2, and the value is y.
  • 5 Linguistics any of the noun phrases in a clause that are related directly to the verb, typically the subject, direct object, and indirect object.
  • 6 archaic a summary of the subject matter of a book.

Phrases

for the sake of argument

as a basis for discussion or reasoning: suppose, for the sake of argument, that this is the legal position

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'process of reasoning'): via Old French from Latin argumentum, from arguere 'make clear, prove, accuse'

Spelling help

There is no e after the u in argument, even though it comes from argue. It does not follow the usual rule that the final silent e is kept when adding endings that begin with a consonant.