lost cause
a cause that has been defeated or whose defeat is inevitable.
Origin of lost cause
1Words Nearby lost cause
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use lost cause in a sentence
When we honor leaders who fought to preserve a system that enslaved human beings, we are honoring a lost cause that has burdened Virginia for too many years.
Virginia Supreme Court clears way for Lee statue in Richmond to come down | Gregory S. Schneider | September 2, 2021 | Washington PostVictor Robles doesn’t have to be a lost cause, nor does the Nats’ frail infrastructure.
The Victor Robles lesson: The Nationals need to rebuild by reinvesting | Barry Svrluga | September 1, 2021 | Washington PostI think talking to those communities is sometimes seen as a lost cause and a waste of energy, and Sam didn’t see that.
The sooner we recognize that, and stop treating loved ones who have adopted conspiratorial beliefs as lost causes, the better we may be at curbing the beliefs that threaten our democracy and public health.
There’s a lot of technical jargon involved, and being mindful of the source can be a lost cause, because there’s virtually no sustainable leather production in the US, Corry says.
Everything you need to know to start leatherworking | Sandra Gutierrez G. | February 19, 2021 | Popular-Science
A gorgeous, glistening rendition of “lost cause” came next, and the airy Morning Phase standout “Blue Moon” ended the sequence.
Beck’s Musical Time Machine: This Wasn’t a Concert. It was a Spectacular Party. | Andrew Romano | April 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOr as Sen. Lee posited, “Many of you may have been told that this is a lost cause.”
Some see all significance in the grim front of the destroyer, and some in the bitter sufferers of the lost cause.
They dress nearly identical to the students I teach in New York, watch the same media, and see politics at home as a lost cause.
Because we gave it our stamp of approval, it will be considered ours—even though we knew it was a lost cause.
Dear U.S. Peace Camp, Don’t Support Negotiations | Mikhael Manekin | March 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIt would be easier for me to give up the fight for Ireland, to desert the beaten side, to forget the lost cause.'
Hyacinth | George A. BirminghamIt takes great courage to fight a lost cause when there is no hope even of victory.
How to Succeed | Orison Swett MardenTheir resting place is marked by an imposing marble shaft, in honor of the comrades of "the lost cause," "wherever they lie."
A second time they came here, and then they were in full retreat, heralds of a finally lost cause.
It was not a meeting of the adherents of a lost cause, but of one which had suffered only temporary defeat.
The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 2 of 2) | Ida Husted Harper
British Dictionary definitions for lost cause
a cause with no chance of success
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with lost cause
A hopeless undertaking, as in Trying to get him to quit smoking is a lost cause. In the 1860s this expression was widely used to describe the Confederacy. [Mid-1800s] Also see losing battle.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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