1
- a person or thing that gives rise to an action, phenomenon, or condition起因; 原因：
the cause of the accident is not clear.
事故的原因不清楚。
1.1
- mass noun reasonable grounds for doing, thinking, or feeling something正当理由：
Faye's condition had given no cause for concern
没理由为费伊的情况担心。
with infinitive the government had good cause to avoid war政府有充足的理由避免战争
count noun class size is a cause for complaint in some schools.在某些学校里, 班级人数的多少是人们抱怨的一个理由。
2
- a principle, aim, or movement to which one is deeply committed and which one is prepared to defend or advocate（为之奋斗的）原则（或目标、运动）; （所主张和捍卫的）事业：
she devoted her whole adult life to the cause of deaf people.
她将她的整个成年时代都奉献给了帮助聋人的事业。
2.1
- with adj. something deserving of one's support, typically a charity值得支持的事（尤指慈善事业）：
I'm raising money for a good cause.
我正为慈善事业募捐。
3
- a matter to be resolved in a court of law诉讼事由。
3.1
- an individual's case offered at law个人诉讼案件。
with obj.
- make (something) happen使（某事）发生, 引起：
this disease can cause blindness
这种疾病可能致盲
with obj. and infinitive we have no idea what has happened to cause people to stay away.我们不知道发生了什么事情使得人们要离开。
短语
cause and effect
1
- the principle of causation因果性, 因果律。
1.1
- the operation or relation of a cause and its effect因果作用, 因果关系。
cause of action
- Law a fact or facts that enable a person to bring an action against another【律】诉讼理由。
in the cause of
- so as to support, promote, or defend something为了…事业, 捍卫, 支持。
make common cause
- unite in order to achieve a shared aim（为达到共同目标而）联合：
nationalist movements made common cause with the reformers.
民族主义运动与改革派联合了起来。
a rebel without a cause
- a person who is dissatisfied with society but does not have a specific aim to fight for无由的反叛者（对社会不满但没有具体奋斗目标的人）。
- ORIGIN: from the title of a US film, released in 1955.
派生词
causeless
adjectivecauser
noun词源
Middle English: from Old French， from Latin causa (noun)， causare (verb).