cause

[kawz]

See more synonyms for cause on Thesaurus.com

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: You have been the cause of much anxiety. What was the cause of the accident?
the reason or motive for some human action: The good news was a cause for rejoicing.
good or sufficient reason: to complain without cause; to be dismissed for cause.

Law.
1. a ground of legal action; the matter over which a person goes to law.
2. a case for judicial decision.
any subject of discussion or debate.
a principle, ideal, goal, or movement to which a person or group is dedicated: the Socialist cause; the human rights cause.
the welfare of a person or group, seen as a subject of concern: support for the cause of the American Indian.
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.

to be the cause of; bring about.

Idioms

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.

Origin of cause

1175–1225; Middle English < Latin causa reason, sake, case

Related formscaus·a·ble, adjectivecaus·a·bil·i·ty, nouncause·less, adjectivecause·less·ly, adverbcause·less·ness, nouncaus·er, nounnon·caus·a·ble, adjectiveself-caused, adjectivesub·cause, nounun·caus·a·ble, adjectiveun·der·cause, noun

Can be confusedcausality causation cause

Synonyms for cause

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

9. effect, make, create, produce.

Synonym study

1. 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. 3. See reason.

'cause

[kawz, kuhz, unstressed kuh z]

conjunction Informal.

because.

Origin of 'cause

1400–50; late Middle English; aphetic variant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for cause

origin, motivation, matter, explanation, element, motive, source, principle, root, purpose, faith, goal, ideal, plan, objective, movement, begin, create, induce, produce

Examples from the Web for cause

Contemporary Examples of cause

So we know that boring down to the bedrock and pumping it full of fluid can cause earthquakes.
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas
James Joiner
January 7, 2015
If Dudesmash were to be something we continued doing, this would be an important year to do it, ‘cause we didn’t do one last year.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll
James Joiner
January 2, 2015
“We hope that the aircraft is found quickly, and we can find out the cause of what has happened,” he said.
The Presumed Crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Is Nothing Like MH370
Lennox Samuels
December 29, 2014
Unfortunately, that means suppressing fire or cutting down all the pretty uninfected trees can cause mistletoe outbreaks.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants
Helen Thompson
December 21, 2014
“Sometimes elevating the heart rate will cause additional pounding in your head,” says Crandall.
5 Hangover Cures to Save You After a Few Too Many
DailyBurn
December 19, 2014

Historical Examples of cause

She put her arms about her neck, and affectionately inquired the cause of her distress.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Here, perhaps, may be found the symbolic clue to the strife's cause.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
He'll think he's been the cause of it, by stealing your heart from me.
Punchinello, Vol. 1. No. 20, August 13, 1870
Various
The cause of freedom owes her much; the country owes her much.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
The breaking of Hope's engagement to Philip was attributed to every cause but the true one.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson

British Dictionary definitions for cause

cause

noun

a person, thing, event, state, or action that produces an effect
grounds for action; motive; justificationshe had good cause to shout like that
the ideals, etc, of a group or movementthe Communist cause
the welfare or interests of a person or group in a disputethey fought for the miners' cause
a matter of widespread concern or importancethe cause of public health
1. a ground for legal action; matter giving rise to a lawsuit
2. the lawsuit itself
(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)
make common cause with to join with (a person, group, etc) for a common objective

verb

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

Derived Formscausable, adjectivecausability, nouncauseless, adjectivecauser, noun

Word Origin for cause

C13: from Latin causa cause, reason, motive

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cause

c.1200, "reason for action, grounds for action; motive," from Old French cause "cause, reason; lawsuit, case in law" (12c.), and directly from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," of unknown origin.

In English, sense of "matter of concern; side taken in controversy" is from c.1300; that of "the source of an effect" is early 14c.; meaning "reason for something taking place" is late 14c. Cause célèbre "celebrated legal case" is 1763, from French. Cause why? "for what reason?" is in Chaucer.

late 14c., "produce an effect," also "impel, compel," from Old French causer "to cause" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin causare, from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," of unknown origin. Related: Caused; causing. Classical Latin causari meant "to plead, to debate a question."

Idioms and Phrases with cause

cause

In addition to the idioms beginning with cause

cause a commotion
cause raised eyebrows

also see:

lost cause