because

Alternative formsEdit

• 'cause, cos, cuz, coz, 'cos, 'cuz, 'coz, b/c

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English bi cause = bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause

PronunciationEdit

• (stressed)
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /bɪˈkɒz/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /biˈkɔz/, /biˈkʌz/
• (unstressed)
  • IPA^(key): /bɪkəz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒz
• Hyphenation: be‧cause

AdverbEdit

because (not comparable)

1. (archaic) For the reason (that).
   • 1611, Authorized King James Version of Genesis 2:3:

     And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

2. On account (of), for sake (of).

   I ruined my life because of you!

3. Used alone to refuse to provide a full answer a question begun with "why", often taken as an ellipsis of "Because I said so".

Derived termsEdit

• because of
• just because

TranslationsEdit

ConjunctionEdit

because

1. By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, The Celebrity:

     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.

   • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, American Scientist, volume 101, number 3: 

     In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.

   I hid myself because I was afraid.

2. As known because; as inferred because; as determined because.
   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 17, The Mirror and the Lamp:

     “Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It's absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.”  ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain.

   It must be broken, because I pressed the button and nothing happened.

   He's not a nice guy, because he yells at people for no reason.

3. (obsolete) So that, in order that. [15th-17th c.]
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.3.2:

     Simon […] set the house on fire where he was born, because nobody should point at it.

SynonymsEdit

• (for the reason that): therefore, since, for, for that, forthy, for sake, forwhy, as, inasmuch as, ∵ (mathematics symbol)

TranslationsEdit

StatisticsEdit

• Most common English words before 1923: between · face · tell · #175: because · few · whom · love