Definition of "cause"

cause

/kɔːz/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural causes
1. (countable, often with of, typically of adverse results) The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.
  Quotations
  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 of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene i], page 23, column 1
  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 part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.
  1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company
2. (uncountable, especially with for and a bare noun) Sufficient reason.
3. (countable) A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.
  Quotations
  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: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act V, scene i]
  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
  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)
  There is much to regret about America's failure in Vietnam. The reasons are etched in black marble on the Washington Mall. But we had believed the cause that America had asked us to serve in Vietnam was a worthy one, and millions who defended it had done so honorably.
  1999, John McCain, Faith of My Fathers‎, New York: Random House, page 348
  "I thought you were loyal to the cause, Paul."“I was,” Grayson answered. “Then I saw the kind of people who share your vision, and I had a change of heart.”
  2008, Drew Karpyshyn, “Epilogue”, in Mass Effect: Ascension‎, Del Rey Books, page 341
4. (obsolete) Sake; interest; advantage.
  Quotations
  I did it not for his cause.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 2 Corinthians 7:12
5. (countable, obsolete) Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.
  Quotations
  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: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene i]
6. (countable, law) 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.
verb
third-person singular simple present causes, present participle causing, simple past and past participle caused
1. (transitive) To set off an event or action.
  Quotations
  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, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
  1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company
  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 mention inconvenience for patients, who typically need to be hooked up to one three times a week for hours at a time.
  2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist‎, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly)
2. (ditransitive) To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.
  Quotations
  I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 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 to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.
  1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company
3. (obsolete) To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse.
  Quotations
  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
conjunction
1. Alternative form of 'cause; because

Definition of "cause"

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conjunction