because
Syllables: be·cause/bɪkəz/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
dated/bɪˈkɔːz/
because conjunction: by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
Conjunction
because
- By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
- I hid myself because I was afraid.
- I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- therefore
- As is known, inferred, or determined from the fact that.
- It must be broken, because I pressed the button and nothing happened.
- I don't think he is a nice person, because he yells at people for no reason.
- So that, in order that.
- Simon[…]set the house on fire where he was born, because nobody should point at it.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II...
Adverb
because (not comparable)
- On account, for sake [with of].
- My life is ruined because of you!
- For the reason [with that].
- And God blessed the seuenth day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his worke, which God created and made.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 2:3
Interjection
- Used alone to refuse to provide a full answer to a question begun with "why", usually taken as an anapodoton of the elided full phrase "Because I said so".
Preposition
because
- On account of, because of.
- He rejected me because revenge, I guess.
- It doesn't work because reasons.
because meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Sanskrit
because in Hindi
- by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that
- क्योंकि kyõki
because in Urdu
- by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that
- کْیون٘کِہ kyoṅki, چونکہ cūṅki
because in Bengali
- by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that
- কারণ karon, কেননা kenona
- as known because; as inferred because; as determined because
- কেননা kenona
- word used in place of an answer to "why"
- কারণ karon
because in Sanskrit
- by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that
- उपजीव्य upajīvya, हि hi
More languagesFewer languages
- because in Nepali
- किनकि kinaki
- because in Pashto
- ځکه چې źëka če
- because in Tagalog
- dahil
- because in Arabic
- لِأَنَّ liʔanna, هكذا hākaḏā, بلا سبب bilā sabab
- because in Malay
- kerana, sebab, karena, pasal
- because in Indonesian
- karena, sebab
- because in Thai
- เพราะ prɔ́, เพราะว่า prɔ́-wâa
- because in Vietnamese
- tại vì, vì, bởi vì
- because in Myanmar
- လို့ lui.
Examples of because in a sentence
- “Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- You're reading this because procrastination.2013 November 19, Megan Garber, “English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet”, in The Atlantic:
Synonyms of because
- therefore
- since
- for
- for that
- on account of
- forthy
- for sake
- as
- inasmuch as
- ∵
15 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- as long as
- being that
- due to the fact that
- forasmuch as
- given that
- in that
- now that
- seeing that
- when
- forwhy
- sith
- being
- being as
- in regard
- sithence
Antonyms
Forms of because
| alternative form | bycause |
|---|---|
| alternative form | becos |
| alternative form | 'cause |
| alternative form | cause |
| alternative form | cos |
| alternative form | cuz |
| alternative form | coz |
| alternative form | 'cos |
| alternative form | 'cuz |
| alternative form | 'coz |
| alternative form | b/c |
| alternative form | bc |
| alternative form | bcos |
| alternative form | bcoz |
| alternative form | bcs |
| alternative form | bcz |
| alternative form | bcus |
| alternative form | ∵ |
Origin of because
From Middle English bi cause, from bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause.
Words formed from because
Phrases with because
Words that rhyme with because
Questions about because
- What does because mean?
- Because means by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
- What is because in Hindi?
- Because in Hindi is क्योंकि (kyõki). See Because meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use because in a sentence?
- “Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated.
- What part of speech is because?
- Because can be a conjunction, an adverb, an interjection or a preposition.
- How do you pronounce because?
- Because is pronounced /bɪkəz/.
Words near because in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: because (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-because.wav, en-us-because.ogg.
Cite this entry: “because.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/because. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.