MEANING
A matter that causes strong or continuing disagreement between people or groups.
Use it for
identifying the main issue in a dispute; naming a recurring source of conflict; distinguishing a disputed point from general hostility; explaining what prevents agreementIdentifies the particular issue that sustains a disagreement. Writing functions: Source of conflict.
Words that belong together
- a major bone of contention
- remain a bone of contention
On the page
Access to the river remained a bone of contention between the neighboring farms.
The budget was approved, but staffing levels became a new bone of contention.
Word forms
- Base
- bone of contention
Usage notes
Count noun phrase: a bone of contention; plural bones of contention. The indefinite article is grammatical, not part of the canonical headword. Register: neutral. Commonness: common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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