cause
noun
verb (used with object), caused, caus·ing.
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Definition for cause (2 of 2)
conjunction Informal.
Origin of 'cause
VOCAB BUILDER
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.”
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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?
What are some words that share a root or word element with cause?
What are some words that often get used in discussing cause?
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.