cause

¹

[ kawz ]

noun

1. a person or thing that acts, happens, or exists in such a way that some specific thing happens as a result; the producer of an effect:

   You have been the cause of much anxiety.

   What was the cause of the accident?

2. the reason or motive for some human action:

   The good news was a cause for rejoicing.

3. good or sufficient reason:

   to complain without cause;

   to be dismissed for cause.

4. Law.
   1. a ground of legal action; the matter over which a person goes to law.
   2. a case for judicial decision.
5. any subject of discussion or debate.
6. a principle, ideal, goal, or movement to which a person or group is dedicated:

   the Socialist cause;

   the human rights cause.

7. the welfare of a person or group, seen as a subject of concern:

   support for the cause of the American Indian.

8. Philosophy.
   1. the end or purpose for which a thing is done or produced.
   2. Aristotelianism. any of the four things necessary for the movement or the coming into being of a thing, namely a material material cause, something to act upon it efficient cause, a form taken by the movement or development formal cause, and a goal or purpose final cause.

verb (used with object)

, caused, caus·ing.

1. to be the cause of; bring about.

   Synonyms: produce, create, make, effect

'cause

²

[ kawz, kuhz, unstressed kuhz ]

conjunction

, Informal.

1. a shortened form of because.

cause

/ kɔːz /

noun

1. a person, thing, event, state, or action that produces an effect
2. grounds for action; motive; justification

   she had good cause to shout like that

3. the ideals, etc, of a group or movement

   the Communist cause

4. the welfare or interests of a person or group in a dispute

   they fought for the miners' cause

5. a matter of widespread concern or importance

   the cause of public health

6. 1. a ground for legal action; matter giving rise to a lawsuit
   2. the lawsuit itself
7. (in the philosophy of Aristotle) any of four requirements for a thing's coming to be, namely material (material cause), its nature (formal cause), an agent (efficient cause), and a purpose (final cause)
8. make common cause with
   to join with (a person, group, etc) for a common objective

verb

1. tr to be the cause of; bring about; precipitate; be the reason for

Derived Forms

• ˈcauseless, adjective
• ˈcauser, noun
• ˌcausaˈbility, noun
• ˈcausable, adjective

Other Words From

• causa·ble adjective
• causa·bili·ty noun
• causeless adjective
• causeless·ly adverb
• causeless·ness noun
• causer noun
• non·causa·ble adjective
• self-caused adjective
• subcause noun
• un·causa·ble adjective
• under·cause noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cause¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Latin causa “case, reason, sake”

Origin of cause²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; aphetic variant

Word History and Origins

Origin of cause¹

C13: from Latin causa cause, reason, motive

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make common cause, to unite in a joint effort; work together for the same end:

   They made common cause with neighboring countries and succeeded in reducing tariffs.

More idioms and phrases containing cause

• lost cause

Synonym Study

Cause, occasion refer to the starting of effects into motion. A cause is an agency, perhaps acting through a long time, or a long-standing situation, that produces an effect: The cause of the quarrel between the two men was jealousy. An occasion is an event that provides an opportunity for the effect to become evident, or perhaps promotes its becoming evident: The occasion was the fact that one man's wages were increased. See reason.

Example Sentences

Cardiovascular disease and dementia are major public health challenges that cause a significant burden on both healthcare and society.

From Science Daily

Teal’s fiancée, Emilia Torello, announced his death Sunday on social media, but did not state his cause of death at the time.

From Los Angeles Times

“Even if it’s biometric data or health data, a lot of the companies are just sharing that data without you knowing, and that is causing a lot of anxiety and questions.”

From Los Angeles Times

Trump allies, including Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street executive he tapped for commerce secretary, have acknowledged that tariffs could cause short-term pain for consumers but will be worth the eventual gains for U.S. manufacturers.

From Salon

Argentine officials determined that the singer died from multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by the fall.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• element
• explanation
• matter
• motivation
• motive
• origin
• principle
• purpose
• root
• source

More About Cause

What is a basic definition of cause?

A cause is a person, thing, event, or action that triggers a resulting event. Cause can also mean a motivation or an ideal or goal that a person or group is dedicated to. Cause has several other senses as a noun and one as a verb.

In manner of speaking, the cause tells you why something happened. A cause is the spark that lights a fire. The cause of you being sick might be a bacteria or a virus that harms your body. You giving your niece a birthday present might be the cause of her being happy. The word cause is often used with the word effect, which means a resulting action that happens because of a cause.

• Real-life examples: Faulty wiring may be the cause of an electrical fire. John Wilkes Booth was the cause of Abraham Lincoln’s death (because Booth shot Lincoln). A giant iceberg was the cause of the sinking of the Titanic.
• Used in a sentence: Experts are still trying to figure out the cause of the mysterious plane crash. 

In this sense, cause is used as a verb to mean to bring about something.

• Used in a sentence: My late-night partying caused me to fail my exam.

Cause is also used as a synonym for motive or reason, meaning a person’s motivation for doing something. In this sense, cause is often used in law (usually as “just cause” or “sufficient cause”) to determine if someone had a valid reason for doing something.

• Used in a sentence: The lawyer argued that the company had fired his client without good cause.

A cause is something that a person or group believes in or an ideal or goal that they have dedicated themselves to.

• Real-life examples: Antiracism is a cause that wants to end racism. Environmentalism is a cause that wants to protect the environment from damage. If a friend of yours is very sick and you start a collection to help with medical bills, that too is a cause.
• Used in a sentence: I donated $50 to the cancer charity because they have a good cause.

Where does cause come from?

The first records of cause come from around 1175. It comes from the Latin causa,  meaning “reason” or “sake.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to cause?

• causable (adjective)
• causability (noun)
• causeless (adjective)
• causelessly (adverb)
• self-caused (adjective)

What are some synonyms for cause?

• originator
• root
• source
• begin
• generate
• movement
• goal
• motivation

What are some words that share a root or word element with cause? 

• causation
• causal
• cause and effect
• lost cause
• cause a commotion
• cause raised eyebrows

What are some words that often get used in discussing cause?

• effect
• good
• bad
• law

How is cause used in real life?

Cause is a very common word that means a reason something happened.

Remove fall hazards. Falls are the leading cause of injury for seniors. To reduce fall risk and encourage home safety for seniors, one of the most important things to do is to make the home fall-safe.

— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) January 12, 2021

No NBA games until Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and other countless innocent lives get justice is a strong and meaningful message.

The NBA has a big platform and are using it for a good cause. Respect.💯

— David Leavitt (@David_Leavitt) August 26, 2020

Correct, thank you for clearing up what I intended to say. Comorbidities, as I should have put it, are as you said not ‘pre-existing’ but instead other issues caused by COVID that may not necessarily show COVID as the sole cause of death, despite COVID causing these issues.

— Danny Beans (@dannybeans27) February 8, 2021

Try using cause!

True or False?

My cat pushed the lamp off the table. My cat is the cause of my broken lamp.