question
♦♦♦ ques|tion /kw'estʃən/ (questions questioning questioned)
1 [N-COUNT] oft N about/on n
A question is something that you say or write in order to ask a person about something.
They asked a great many questions about England...
The President refused to answer further questions on the subject...
2 [VERB] V n
If you question someone, you ask them a lot of questions about something.
This led the therapist to question Jim about his parents and their marriage...
● questioning [N-UNCOUNT]
The police have detained thirty-two people for questioning.
3 [VERB] V n
If you question something, you have or express doubts about whether it is true, reasonable, or worthwhile.
It never occurs to them to question the doctor's decisions...
4 [N-SING] with supp, also prep N
If you say that there is some question about something, you mean that there is doubt or uncertainty about it. If something is in question or has been called into question, doubt or uncertainty has been expressed about it.
There's no question about their success...
The paper says the President's move has called into question the whole basis of democracy in the country...
With the loyalty of key military units in question, that could prove an extraordinarily difficult task.
5 [N-COUNT] oft N of n/wh
A question is a problem, matter, or point which needs to be considered.
But the whole question of aid is a tricky political one...
6 [N-COUNT]
The questions in an examination are the problems which are set in order to test your knowledge or ability.
That question did come up in the examination.
7
see also questioning, cross-question, trick question, trick question
8 [PHRASE] n PHR
The person, thing, or time in question is one which you have just been talking about or which is relevant.
Add up all the income you've received over the period in question.
9 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that something is out of the question, you are emphasizing that it is completely impossible or unacceptable.
For the homeless, private medical care is simply out of the question...
10 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you pop the question, you ask someone to marry you. (JOURNALISM INFORMAL)
Stuart got serious quickly and popped the question six months later.
= propose
11 [PHRASE] V inflects, PHR -ing, PHR n -ing
If you say there is no question of something happening, you are emphasizing that it is not going to happen.
As far as he was concerned there was no question of betraying his own comrades...
There is no question of the tax-payer picking up the bill for the party.
12 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you do something without question, you do it without arguing or asking why it is necessary.
...military formations, carrying out without question the battle orders of superior officers.
13 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
You use without question to emphasize the opinion you are expressing.
He was our greatest storyteller, without question.in|di|rect ques|tion (indirect questions)
[N-COUNT]
An indirect question is the same as a reported question. (mainly BRIT)lead|ing ques|tion (leading questions)
[N-COUNT]
A leading question is expressed in such a way that it suggests what the answer should be.open ques|tion (open questions)
[N-COUNT]
If something is an open question, people have different opinions about it and nobody can say which opinion is correct.
A British official said he thought it was an open question whether sanctions would do any good.ques|tion mark (question marks)
1 [N-COUNT]
A question mark is the punctuation mark ? which is used in writing at the end of a question.
2 [N-COUNT] oft N over n
If there is doubt or uncertainty about something, you can say that there is a question mark over it.
There are bound to be question marks over his future...ques|tion tag (question tags)
[N-COUNT]
In grammar, a question tag is a very short clause at the end of a statement which changes the statement into a question. For example, in `She said half price, didn't she?', the words `didn't she' are a question tag.re|port|ed ques|tion (reported questions)
[N-COUNT]
A reported question is a question which is reported using a clause beginning with a word such as `why' or `whether', as in `I asked her why she'd done it'. (BRIT)
= indirect questiontrick ques|tion (trick questions)
[N-COUNT]
If someone asks you a trick question, they ask you a question which is very difficult to answer, for example because there is a hidden difficulty or because the answer that seems obvious is not the correct one.
1 [N-COUNT] oft N about/on n
A question is something that you say or write in order to ask a person about something.
They asked a great many questions about England...
The President refused to answer further questions on the subject...
2 [VERB] V n
If you question someone, you ask them a lot of questions about something.
This led the therapist to question Jim about his parents and their marriage...
● questioning [N-UNCOUNT]
The police have detained thirty-two people for questioning.
3 [VERB] V n
If you question something, you have or express doubts about whether it is true, reasonable, or worthwhile.
It never occurs to them to question the doctor's decisions...
4 [N-SING] with supp, also prep N
If you say that there is some question about something, you mean that there is doubt or uncertainty about it. If something is in question or has been called into question, doubt or uncertainty has been expressed about it.
There's no question about their success...
The paper says the President's move has called into question the whole basis of democracy in the country...
With the loyalty of key military units in question, that could prove an extraordinarily difficult task.
5 [N-COUNT] oft N of n/wh
A question is a problem, matter, or point which needs to be considered.
But the whole question of aid is a tricky political one...
6 [N-COUNT]
The questions in an examination are the problems which are set in order to test your knowledge or ability.
That question did come up in the examination.
7
see also questioning, cross-question, trick question, trick question
8 [PHRASE] n PHR
The person, thing, or time in question is one which you have just been talking about or which is relevant.
Add up all the income you've received over the period in question.
9 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that something is out of the question, you are emphasizing that it is completely impossible or unacceptable.
For the homeless, private medical care is simply out of the question...
10 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you pop the question, you ask someone to marry you. (JOURNALISM INFORMAL)
Stuart got serious quickly and popped the question six months later.
= propose
11 [PHRASE] V inflects, PHR -ing, PHR n -ing
If you say there is no question of something happening, you are emphasizing that it is not going to happen.
As far as he was concerned there was no question of betraying his own comrades...
There is no question of the tax-payer picking up the bill for the party.
12 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you do something without question, you do it without arguing or asking why it is necessary.
...military formations, carrying out without question the battle orders of superior officers.
13 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
You use without question to emphasize the opinion you are expressing.
He was our greatest storyteller, without question.in|di|rect ques|tion (indirect questions)
[N-COUNT]
An indirect question is the same as a reported question. (mainly BRIT)lead|ing ques|tion (leading questions)
[N-COUNT]
A leading question is expressed in such a way that it suggests what the answer should be.open ques|tion (open questions)
[N-COUNT]
If something is an open question, people have different opinions about it and nobody can say which opinion is correct.
A British official said he thought it was an open question whether sanctions would do any good.ques|tion mark (question marks)
1 [N-COUNT]
A question mark is the punctuation mark ? which is used in writing at the end of a question.
2 [N-COUNT] oft N over n
If there is doubt or uncertainty about something, you can say that there is a question mark over it.
There are bound to be question marks over his future...ques|tion tag (question tags)
[N-COUNT]
In grammar, a question tag is a very short clause at the end of a statement which changes the statement into a question. For example, in `She said half price, didn't she?', the words `didn't she' are a question tag.re|port|ed ques|tion (reported questions)
[N-COUNT]
A reported question is a question which is reported using a clause beginning with a word such as `why' or `whether', as in `I asked her why she'd done it'. (BRIT)
= indirect questiontrick ques|tion (trick questions)
[N-COUNT]
If someone asks you a trick question, they ask you a question which is very difficult to answer, for example because there is a hidden difficulty or because the answer that seems obvious is not the correct one.