because of

prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"because-of" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“because of” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a preposition - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - On account of; due to, for the purpose of.

Key facts for because of
PropertyValue
Headwordbecause of
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPreposition
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “because of” sits in English frequency

because of falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for because of is 10 letters long, classified as a preposition. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "On account of; due to, for the purpose of.".

because of doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is because of, spelled B-E-C-A-U-S-E- -O-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    On account of; due to, for the purpose of.

Synonyms

on account ofalong ofbecausebecause ofas a consequence ofout of consideration forby dint ofdue toon the force ofon the grounds ofin the interest ofonowing tofor the purpose ofby reason ofin respect ofas a result offor sake offor the sake ofthanks toby virtue ofin virtue of

Antonyms

despite

This word in other languages

à cause de(Français)wegen(Deutsch)por causa de(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "because of"?
"because of" is spelled B-E-C-A-U-S-E- -O-F.
What does "because of" mean?
As a preposition, "because of" means: On account of; due to, for the purpose of.
What language does "because of" come from?
"because of" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “because of”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-E-C-A-U-S-E- -O-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list