issue

/ˈɪʃu/

Reviewed on

Also a verb

Meaning

  1. An important subject or topic that people discuss or argue about.

    • Safety is the main issue at tonight's school meeting.

  2. A problem or difficulty, often one that needs to be fixed.

    • We had some issues with the internet this morning.

  3. One edition of a magazine or newspaper that comes out at a particular time.

    • Have you read the latest issue of the magazine?

How it's used

When this means “names the thing that causes a problem”

  • issue with + noun

I have an issue with my phone. The screen keeps freezing.

When this means “says whether something causes a problem; 'not an issue' means 'no problem'”

  • (not) an issue

Parking won't be an issue. There's a big lot.

When this means “names the edition”

  • issue of + magazine / month

The story appeared in the June issue.

Collocations

  • important issue
  • key issue
  • raise an issue
  • discuss the issue
  • the issue at hand
  • technical issue
  • health issues
  • fix the issue
  • the latest issue
  • back issue

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms

  • take issue with

    to disagree with something or someone and say so

    I take issue with the idea that homework is useless.

  • at issue

    being discussed or decided right now

    What's at issue is the cost, not the design.

  • make an issue of

    to treat something small as a big problem

    He was five minutes late, but she didn't make an issue of it.