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

In addition to his work at the anchor desk, viewers also took issue with Dokoupil's coverage of the deadly ICE shooting of a woman in Minnesota. —Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Jan. 2026

So why would anyone take issue with using a gambling tax to learn about the effects of gambling? —Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026

But the organization takes issue with the discrepancies that have emerged between responsible gaming standards under the state and federal betting frameworks, Wogoman said in an interview last fall. —Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 9 Jan. 2026

Some might take issue that actual recordings get used, but given the message this expertly made film so emphatically presents, that haunting voice makes the film all that more powerful, meaningful and dispiriting. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take issue

• reissue