Real-life examples: Antiracism is a cause that wants to end racism.Used in a sentence: The lawyer argued that the company had fired his client without good cause.Ī cause is something that a person or group believes in or an ideal or goal that they have dedicated themselves to.In this sense, cause is often used in law (usually as “just cause” or “sufficient cause”) to determine if someone had a valid reason for doing something. Used in a sentence: My late-night partying caused me to fail my exam.Ĭause is also used as a synonym for motive or reason, meaning a person’s motivation for doing something.In this sense, cause is used as a verb to mean to bring about something. Used in a sentence: Experts are still trying to figure out the cause of the mysterious plane crash.A giant iceberg was the cause of the sinking of the Titanic. John Wilkes Booth was the cause of Abraham Lincoln’s death (because Booth shot Lincoln). Real-life examples: Faulty wiring may be the cause of an electrical fire.The word cause is often used with the word effect, which means a resulting action that happens because of a cause. You giving your niece a birthday present might be the cause of her being happy. The cause of you being sick might be a bacteria or a virus that harms your body. In manner of speaking, the cause tells you why something happened. Cause has several other senses as a noun and one as a verb. Cause can also mean a motivation or an ideal or goal that a person or group is dedicated to. A cause is a person, thing, event, or action that triggers a resulting event.