Meaning & use
cause
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Meanings
nouncountable
The thing, person or event that makes something happen.
Grammar: Often followed by of: the cause of the fire.
Patterns
- the cause of something
Investigators are still looking for the cause of the explosion.
Poor sleep is a common cause of headaches.
The main cause of the delay was a broken signal.
noununcountable
A good reason or justification for feeling or acting in a certain way.
Grammar: Usually appears in phrases like cause for concern; no plural article is needed.
Patterns
- cause for something
- cause to do something
There is no cause for alarm; the system will restart soon.
You have every cause to be proud of her.
He gave them no cause to complain.
nouncountable
A principle, movement or goal that people support and work for.
Grammar: Often used with adjectives like good or worthy: a good cause.
Patterns
- the cause of something
She gave her time to the cause of clean water.
All the money raised goes to a good cause.
Many students joined the cause of climate action.
verbtransitive
To make something happen, usually something bad or unexpected.
Grammar: Takes an object: the storm caused damage. Often followed by someone something: cause us trouble.
Patterns
- cause something
- cause someone something
- cause someone to do something
The heavy rain caused flooding in the valley.
His late arrival caused us some embarrassment.
Smoking can cause serious lung disease.
Word forms
| plural | causes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | causes |
| past tense | caused |
| past participle | caused |
| -ing form | causing |
Common combinations
- root cause
- Engineers traced the fault to a root cause in the wiring.
- cause of death
- The report gave the cause of death as heart failure.
- cause for concern
- The test results are no cause for concern.
- cause problems
- Old software can cause problems on new computers.
- champion a cause
- The actor has championed the cause of animal welfare for years.
- lost cause
- Everyone said saving the old theater was a lost cause.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reason
- Reason explains why something happens or why a person acts, while cause names the thing that actually produces the effect.
- source
- Source points to where something starts, such as a river or a problem, and does not stress the effect it produces.
- trigger
- Trigger is a single event that sets off a reaction, whereas a cause may be a long-term condition.
- bring about
- Bring about is a phrasal verb that suggests a deliberate or gradual result, and is more formal in tone than cause.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: cause or because? cause or effect?
cause vs because
Because is a conjunction introducing a reason; cause is a noun or verb. Say the match was cancelled because of rain, not cause of rain.
cause vs effect
A cause produces an effect. The cause comes first and the effect is the result.
Practice
Heavy snow was the main ____ of the traffic jam.
Choose one answer.
Cause of means the thing that produced the jam. Effect and result name the outcome, and reason for would need a different structure.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cause”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.