common cause

1. A joint interest, as in “The common cause against the enemies of piety” (from John Dryden's poem, Religio laici, or a Layman's Faith, 1682). This term originated as to make common cause (with), meaning “to unite one's interest with another's.” In the mid-1900s the name Common Cause was adopted by a liberal lobbying group.

Example Sentences

All the more noticeable, then, that a growing number of mainstream European politicians feel the political pressure to pare the climate agenda—even if that means expressing new willingness to make common cause with the insurgents.

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The financial repercussions can be big: 44% of underinsured people in the Commonwealth Fund survey, particularly low- and moderate-income respondents, had medical debt, with the most common cause of debt being new and ongoing health conditions, rather than costly emergencies.

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I struggle to believe that a shared gripe or a joke about the absurdities of American politics brings us closer to agreeing on tax policy or a viable safety net for poor Americans or the humane treatment of immigrants, because common ground is not common cause and that’s what matters now.

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So, there I was, in common cause with those stalwart protesters, cheering the friendly drivers and flashing everyone the peace sign, and all I could think was: This s**t is not working.

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Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in the UK - but its exact cause is not yet fully understood.

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