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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

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

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

Many of the ingredients needed to cause a fall in U.S. home prices are in place, except for the one that really matters: owners who are desperate to sell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The certificate lists Mackie’s cause of death as a subarachnoid hemorrhage and blunt head trauma.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

What started as an unexpected finding in genetically modified mice helped reveal the cause of an extremely rare disease, transformed how doctors diagnose it, and provided the foundation for developing a drug.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

And on Tuesday, five justices at the UK's highest court were asked to consider whether Field could have made Mr Farquhar cause his own death without Field legally being responsible.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Still, some long-term believers stayed true to the cause, unable or unwilling to accept facts.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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

“I'm happy, 'cause we're here. Being here and seeing what she has accomplished through all her years, you have that feeling of just joy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 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

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

“She would’ve asked herself, but she gets shy around you ’cause she thinks you’re cute.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

“When you have numbers overstated by more than 20x, it causes problems for policymakers,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

According to Natural England, external, causes for the decline include the introduction of grey squirrels from the USA and Canada from 1876 spreading the squirrelpox virus, which is fatal to the red squirrels only.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The causes of facial and body acne are similar, although skin bacteria sometimes play a larger role in body acne.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

It’s a statistical sleight of hand to conclude from this that old age is what causes bull markets to end, however.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

However, the condition causes many sufferers psychological distress, which can lead to social anxiety or depression.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

That, in turn, has caused many central banks to step in to address price stability, with authorities hiking borrowing costs to curb prices.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Weighing on the performance, however, was the company’s longrunning defense against lawsuits alleging its talcum baby powder caused ovarian cancer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The second of these strikes on Thursday caused Yandex, often referred to as Russia's Google, to announce it was struggling to maintain its services.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

And Jones believes that, due to all of the uncertainty caused by rapidly advancing artificial-intelligence capabilities, many of these insiders will want to quickly diversify.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

That letter had caused a domino effect of events that pitted Regan against me in a simulation test that just so happened to also be testing for compatibility for the partner program.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Eating one is too much, but adding a small bit to a dish can spice up a portfolio without causing intestinal distress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Later that year, she had multiple episodes of violent vomiting, causing her to stay home from work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

But Indonesia has in the past also apologised to its neighbours for causing the haze.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The National Hurricane Center said the worst of Rachel was over but "hazardous coastal conditions" could persist for days, with the highest waves coinciding with high tides, causing life-threatening surf and rip currents.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Jeremy screamed and flung himself across the bed, causing the dragon to flutter into the air.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

Related Words

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