argue

verb

1 DISAGREE (I) to disagree with someone in words, often in an angry way: Did you hear the couple next door arguing last night?

(+ with): I'm not going to argue with you, but I think you're wrong. (+ about): They were arguing about how to spend the money. (+ over): The family argued bitterly over who should inherit the house. (=argue about something, especially about who should have something)

2 STATE (I, T) to state, giving clear reasons, that something is true, should be done etc: a well-argued case | argue that: Croft argued that a date should be set for the withdrawal of troops. | argue for/against (=argue that something should or should not be done): You can argue against extending the airport on the grounds of cost. | argue the point (=discuss something): We could argue this point for hours without reaching any sensible conclusions.

3 argue sb into/out of sth especially BrE to persuade someone to do or not do something: Joyce argued me into buying a new jacket.

4 SHOW CLEARLY (T) formal to show that something clearly exists or is true: The commissioner's statement argues a high level of police involvement.

5 argue the toss BrE informal to continue to argue about a decision that has been made and cannot be changed: How stupid of me to argue the toss with the traffic policeman.