(~s, causing, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ of an event, usually a bad event, is the thing that makes it happen.
Smoking is the biggest preventable ~ of death and disease...
The ~s are a complex blend of local and national tensions.
? effect
N-COUNT: oft N of n
2.
To ~ something, usually something bad, means to make it happen.
Attempts to limit family size among some minorities are likely to ~ problems...
This was a genuine mistake, but it did ~ me some worry.
...a protein that gets into animal cells and attacks other proteins, causing disease to spread.
...the damage to Romanian democracy ~d by events of the past few days.
VERB: V n, V n n, V n to-inf, V-ed
3.
If you have ~ for a particular feeling or action, you have good reasons for feeling it or doing it.
Only a few people can find any ~ for celebration...
Both had much ~ to be grateful for the secretiveness of government in Britain.
= reason
N-UNCOUNT: N for n, N to-inf
4.
A ~ is an aim or principle which a group of people supports or is fighting for.
Refusing to have one leader has not helped the ~.
N-COUNT
see also lost ~
5.
You use ~ and effect to talk about the way in which one thing is ~d by another.
...fundamental laws of biological ~ and effect.
PHRASE
6.
If you say that something is in a good ~ or for a good ~, you mean that it is worth doing or giving to be~ it will help other people, for example by raising money for charity.
The Raleigh International Bike Ride is open to anyone who wants to raise money for a good ~.
PHRASE