cause

To set off an event or action; to bring about; to produce.

Conjunction

  1. Alternative form of 'cause; because
    • Why not? Cause I don't wanna.

Noun

  1. The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.
    • They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding.
    • We thanke you both, yet one but flatters vs, As well appeareth by the cauſe you come, Namely, to appeale each other of high treaſon. - 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death...
    • He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their...

    Synonyms: basis genesis

    Antonyms: effect result

  2. Sufficient reason.
    • There is no cause for alarm.
    • The end of the war was a cause for celebration.
    • He has no cause to do that.

    Synonyms: grounds justification occasion

  3. A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.
    • God befriend us, as our cause is just. - c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:...
    • The part they take against me is from zeal to the cause. - 1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, […], London: […] J. Owen,...
    • I'm not fighting for anything anymore, except myself. I'm the only cause I'm interested in. - 1942, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Casablanca, spoken by Rick (Humphrey Bogart):

    Synonyms: objective purpose aim ambition aspiration end goal intention object success target telos

  4. Sake; interest; advantage.
    • I did it not for his cause. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 7:12:
  5. Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.
    • What counsel give you in this weighty cause? - 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London:...
  6. A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action.

    Synonyms: litigation action cause lawsuit suit

Origin

* From Middle English cause (also with the sense of “a thing”), borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), borrowed from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), from Proto-Italic *kaussā, which is of unknown origin. Doublet of chose (“(law) a thing; personal property”). See accuse, excuse, recuse, ruse. Displaced native Old English intinga. * From Middle English causen, Old French causer and Medieval Latin causāre.

Forms

causes

Synonyms

basis cause genesis germ origin principle reason root source

Antonyms

consequence effect result hindrance impediment preventer prohibitor

Hyponyms

first cause first mover prime mover primum mobile fountainhead mainspring springhead wellhead wellspring

Related

effect agency completion finish outcome because because of beginning

Derived

all-cause because by-cause bycause causal causality causative cause and effect cause célèbre cause celebre causeful causeless cause of action cause of death common cause concause countercause efficient cause external cause final cause first cause for cause forcause formal cause

Verb

  1. To set off an event or action; to bring about; to produce.
    • The lightning caused thunder.
    • Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now,...
    • An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic[…]real kidneys[…]. But they are nothing like as efficient, and can cause bleeding, clotting and infection—not to...

    Coordinate Terms: occasion bring entrain

  2. To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.
    • His dogged determination caused the fundraising to be successful.
    • I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 7:4:
    • And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted...
  3. To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse.
    • He, to shifte their curious request, / Gan causen why she could not come in place. - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

Forms

causes causing caused no-table-tags glossary cause causest causedst causeth -

Derived

causable causation cause a stir causee causer causingness uncause