Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use cause in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Cause means the source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result. Example: “They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding.”

Examples of cause by meaning

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

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

nounSufficient reason.

  • There is no cause for alarm.
  • The end of the war was a cause for celebration.
  • He has no cause to do that.

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

  • I'm the only cause I'm interested in.1942, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Casablanca, spoken by Rick (Humphrey Bogart)
  • 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, →ISBN, page 348

verbTo set off an event or action; to bring about; to produce.

  • The lightning caused thunder.
  • 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)

verbTo actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.

  • His dogged determination caused the fundraising to be successful.
  • 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, →OCLC

More sentences with cause

  • The United States is causing problems for herself with this policy.From the entry United States
  • Heavy rains have caused the dam's abutments to seep, raising concern over possible dam failure.From the entry abutment
  • You best have some money, cause there ain't no checks or credit here.From the entry money
  • Pressing a piano key causes the action of the hammer on the string.From the entry action
  • Although not a direct cause, the border skirmish was certainly a collateral incitement for the war.From the entry collateral
  • By far the largest tides on Europa are those caused by the gravitational attraction of Jupiter.From the entry tide
  • Not enough is known yet about the causes of the pandemic.From the entry enough
  • He corked his bat, which was discovered when it broke, causing a controversy.From the entry cork
  • The burn in my eyes was caused by that bright light.From the entry burn
  • During hot and dry summers many fires in forests are caused by regardlessly discarded cigarette butts.From the entry fire
  • The performance overran by ten minutes, which caused some people to miss their bus home.From the entry overrun
  • Spurious emissions from the wireless mast were causing nearby electrical equipment to go haywire.From the entry spurious
  • His spine had an impingement; L4 and L5 made impact, which caused numbness in his leg.From the entry impact
  • High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.From the entry act
  • Unlike you, I’ve never caused any accidents — my record is still clean!From the entry clean
  • Though a pawn of the gods, her departure is the precipitating cause of the Trojan War.From the entry pawn
  • The battle rapper ethered his opponent and caused him to slink away in shame.From the entry ether
  • The construction flaw is incorrigible; any attempt to amend it would cause a complete collapse.From the entry incorrigible
  • Guillain–Barré syndrome causes one to not be able to move one’s extremities.From the entry extremity
  • You just drag him 'cause he's got more money than you.From the entry drag
  • The dampness in the writing paper caused the ink to spread and smudge.From the entry dampness
  • I told him to can it, 'cause he was getting to be annoying.From the entry can it
  • As part of the act, the fat clown's belt broke, causing his pants to fall down.From the entry belt
  • The problems with the new computer system are causing a lot of noise at Head Office.From the entry noise
  • The aerial photographs clearly showed the damage caused by the storm.From the entry aerial
  • The bug was found to be caused by stale data in the cache.From the entry stale
  • His actions caused alarm among all the other people in the store, who hurried to leave.From the entry alarm
  • The migration of lead from a can to the food inside it can cause lead poisoning.From the entry migration
  • Man, quit actin' brand new, bruh. You only being this way 'cause there's a girl.From the entry brand new
  • Genetic problems caused by incest are thought to have plagued many royal families in the Middle Ages.From the entry incest

Meaning of cause

  1. noun The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.
  2. noun Sufficient reason.
  3. noun A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.

Full definition of cause

Questions about cause in a sentence

How do you use cause in a sentence?
Cause is used as a noun and verb. For example: “They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding.”
What is a short sentence with cause?
“The lightning caused thunder.”
What does cause mean?
Cause means the source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cause (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use cause in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/cause. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.