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• cause
  cause

  noun

  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.
• 'cause
  'cause

  conjunction

  a shortened form of because.

cause

¹ American  

[kawz] / kɔz /

noun

• causes
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

• causes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• caused,
  past participle,  past
• causing
  present participle

1. to be the cause of; bring about.

   Synonyms:

   produce, create, make, effect

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.

'cause ² American  

[kawz, kuhz, kuhz] / kɔz, kʌz, kəz /

conjunction

Informal.

1. a shortened form of because.

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cause British  

/ 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. to join with (a person, group, etc) for a common objective

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verb

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

cause More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing cause

• lost cause

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Usage

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.

Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• causability
  noun
• causelessness
  noun
• causer
  noun
• subcause
  noun
• undercause
  noun
• causable
  adjective
• causeless
  adjective
• noncausable
  adjective
• self-caused
  adjective
• uncausable
  adjective
• causelessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• causes
  plural

Participles

• causing
  present
• caused
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cause
  simple
• causes
  simple
• have caused
  perfect
• has caused
  perfect
• am causing
  progressive
• are causing
  progressive
• is causing
  progressive
• have been causing
  perfect progressive
• has been causing
  perfect progressive

Past

• caused
  simple
• had caused
  perfect
• was causing
  progressive
• were causing
  progressive
• had been causing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cause
  simple
• will have caused
  perfect
• will be causing
  progressive
• will have been causing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

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

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Explanation

A cause makes an effect, and you're likely to hear the phrase "cause and effect" when people are trying to analyze how things happen. Cause can also mean something worth fighting for — like social justice or animal rights. You might raise money for a good cause, like ending poverty. Once the doctor determines the cause of your illness, she might make it her personal cause to discover a cure. The verb cause is all about the action of producing an effect, like when you slice onions and it causes your eyes to water.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cause 'cause causes caused causing

It can cause cognitive issues, difficulty walking and the loss of bladder control.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

The findings, published in Nature Immunology, could be especially important for colorectal cancer, which has become the leading cause of cancer-related death among people under 50.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The law allows authorities to target companies whose activities overseas cause or contribute to unhealthy haze levels in Singapore.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Coventry are a dangerous counter-attacking team, and their pace in forward areas will cause problems, but this is going to be Tottenham's night.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Advanced cases of leprosy can cause blindness, nerve paralysis, painful sores, and deformity.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

At 21:34, as Pike was being taken to hospital, one medic asked a colleague to ensure the prison knew where Pike was being taken, "just 'cause there's been so much other confusion".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

“We’re very high on quality, and we’re high on authenticity. Music was always the main goal, and that’s why we chose Daptone; we’re on the same page about that, ‘cause music is a vibration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

“Everybody thinks they’re so funny and they can do stand-up ‘cause it looks so easy,” said Rodriguez.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Cosgrove is hopeful that with winter around the corner, relief is on the way: "Eventually they do stop 'cause it gets too cold and wet."

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

I didn’t see it before ’cause his dad’s oversized shirt hung over his hands, but now I see there’s a black tree tattooed on the back of his right hand.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

This causes a greater contrast with the warmer tropics which can fire up a more potent jet stream - the fast moving, narrow band of fast winds high in the atmosphere.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Joel canceled concerts in May 2025 after revealing two months before that he had a brain disorder known as normal pressure hydrocephalus, or NPH, which causes physical and mental issues.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Yeah, it’s also that our weakness for money, or the power of money, in this culture also causes us somehow to think that if you’re wealthy, you’re also wise rather than just ruthless, right?

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Air pollution in part of Singapore hit the country's "very high" band on Wednesday, while East Timor shut schools, as haze from forest fires raging in Indonesia causes a regional crisis.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

But it should be obvious that not all beliefs are on a par with one another, and that the causes of their credibility vary greatly.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The breach caused the company, Instructure, to temporarily take Canvas offline and interrupted classes, assignments and finals preparations for hundreds of thousands of students and professors as hackers threatened to release their personal data.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Several of Vitol’s peers, including rivals Trafigura and the trading arms of BP and TotalEnergies, have profited from the disruptions caused by the war in Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

In total, the Synnovis hack in 2024 disrupted more than 10,000 appointments and caused weeks of disruption.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Technologists envision a future where robots can supplement a declining labor force caused by shifting demographics, and spare humans from dangerous and dirty work.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

What if the earthquake caused the redwood to move again?

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

The airspace above Moscow was closed for several house, causing flight delays, as 644 drones were intercepted above 26 Russian regions, the defence ministry said.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Huang pushed back on financial concerns around U.S. cloud provider CoreWeave, causing its stock to rebound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

One important mechanism involves causing infected cells to die in a controlled, localized area, helping prevent the pathogen from spreading farther through the plant.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

The rain began lashing Turkey's largest city in earnest on Wednesday morning and intensified throughout the day, causing chaos and flash flooding, with footage showing cars being dragged away by the fast-flowing waters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

“I’m not going to hurt you, though you were causing mischief, now, weren’t you?”

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

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