cause célèbre

American  

[kawz suh-leb-ruh, -leb, kohz sey-leb-r^uh] / ˈkɔz səˈlɛb rə, -ˈlɛb, koʊz seɪˈlɛb rə /

noun

causes célèbres plural

1. any controversy that attracts great public attention, as a celebrated legal case or trial.

---

cause célèbre British  

/ koz selɛbrə, ˈkɔːz səˈlɛbrə, -ˈlɛb /

noun

1. a famous lawsuit, trial, or controversy

---

cause célèbre Cultural  

1. A cause or issue, generally political, that arouses public opinion: “The question of the draft was a cause célèbre in the 1960s.” From French, meaning “celebrated cause.”

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• causes célèbres
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cause célèbre

First recorded in 1755–65; from French: literally, “famous case”

Example Sentences

While Sally’s children turn Champ’s legal troubles into a cause célèbre on social media, Sally and Corinne strategize about how to clear the terrier’s name.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Not surprisingly, the grave miscarriage of justice in his case has attracted national and international attention and made it a cause célèbre for people opposed to the death penalty and many supporters of capital punishment.

From Slate • Oct. 18, 2024

His conviction has become a cause célèbre in libertarian circles.

From Salon • May 26, 2024

Much like Roe, the Chevalier case became a cause célèbre.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2024

There was a general craning of necks to catch a glimpse of the eminent jurist whose brilliant address to the jury in a recent cause célèbre had saved an innocent man from the electric chair.

From The Third Degree A Narrative of Metropolitan Life by Klein, Charles