take issue

idiomatic phrase

: to adopt or express an opposed or contrary view or position : disagree

Though a barbecuing Southerner may take issue, Texas-style and Korean barbecue have much in common.

—Anito Lo

—usually used with with

She took issue with the conclusions reached by the study.

Carolyn Nichols, an editor at Bantam, took issue with the notion that romance fiction is escapist.

—Charles Trueheart

Despite the proliferation of all means of communications, from magazines to computers, books remain our chief medium for the full expression of ideas, and for taking issue with those of others.

—Robert R. Harris

Examples of take issue in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Alessi also took issue with tests Whiffin conducted by putting a phone in a freezer and outside in December, which showed steeper temperature drops than those recorded on O'Keefe's phone on Jan. 29, 2022. —Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 30 Apr. 2025

Manufacturers and the unions take issue with Fine’s foam foodware bill, arguing the measure would only shift consumers to use another type of plastic and cause significant job losses at polystyrene manufacturing plants. —Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2025

The lawsuit also takes issue with the movie being used to promote GenTV, which Jackson says directly competes with his own streaming channel, 50 Cent Action, a partnership with Lionsgate that features titles hand-selected by him from the studio’s library. —Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 25 Apr. 2025

Some people, however, did take issue with the museum displaying mummified cats in a recent exhibition about witchcraft. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take issue

• reissue