cause (causes plural & 3rd person present) (causing present participle) (caused past tense & past participle )
1 n-count The causeof an event, usually a bad event, is the thing that makes it happen.
oft N of n (Antonym: effect)
Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death and disease..., The causes are a complex blend of local and national tensions.
2 verb To cause something, usually something bad, means to make it happen.
Attempts to limit family size among some minorities are likely to cause problems... V n
This was a genuine mistake, but it did cause me some worry. V n n
...a protein that gets into animal cells and attacks other proteins, causing disease to spread. V n to-inf
...the damage to Romanian democracy caused by events of the past few days. V-ed
3 n-uncount If you have causefor a particular feeling or action, you have good reasons for feeling it or doing it.
N for n, N to-inf
(=reason)
Only a few people can find any cause for celebration..., Both had much cause to be grateful for the secretiveness of government in Britain.
4 n-count A cause is an aim or principle which a group of people supports or is fighting for.
Refusing to have one leader has not helped the cause.
→
lost cause
5 You use cause and effect to talk about the way in which one thing is caused by another.
cause and effect phrase
...fundamental laws of biological cause and effect.
6 If you say that something is in a good cause or for a good cause, you mean that it is worth doing or giving to because it will help other people, for example by raising money for charity.
in a good cause/for a good cause phrase The Raleigh International Bike Ride is open to anyone who wants to raise money for a good cause.
'cause , cause 'Cause is an informal way of saying because. conj
30 families are suffering 'cause they're out of work.
cause célèbre (causes célèbres plural ), cause celebre A cause célèbre is an issue, person, or criminal trial that has attracted a lot of public attention and discussion.
FORMAL n-count
The Kravchenko trial became a cause celebre in Paris and internationally.
lost cause (lost causes plural )If you refer to something or someone as alost cause, you mean that people's attempts to change or influence them have no chance of succeeding. n-count
They do not want to expend energy in what, to them, is a lost cause.
