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

It can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, while research shows it can also delay development in young children.

From BBC

Although uncommon, bananaphobia can be triggered by seeing or smelling the fruit and can cause serious symptoms like anxiety and nausea.

From BBC

One of Measure A’s goals is to prevent homelessness, and it allocates more funding to that cause than Measure H did.

From Los Angeles Times

Early on, the cause was reining in the world’s population — the United States’ population, in particular.

From Salon

“They wanted to be able to say, ‘This is not just a conservative cause, this is a liberal cause as well,’” Pope told me.

From Salon

Related Words

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