cause

CEFRA2

/kɔːz/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The reason why something happens.

  2. 02

    verb

    To make something happen, especially a problem or result.

Examples

  • Unemployment is a major cause of poverty.

  • You are always the cause of my worries.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [kʰo̞ːz̥]
  • /koːz/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.

  2. Sufficient reason.

  3. The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.

More examples

In context

  • You have no cause for anger.

  • The end of the war was a cause for celebration.

  • They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The doctor determined that a viral infection was the main blank of the fever.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

* 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.