cause
/kɔːz/
"cause" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cause” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #441 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #441
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cause |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kɔːz/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #441 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cause” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cause is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɔːz/. Corpus data places it at rank #441 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cause, with forms such as "acuse", "casue", and "caues". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cue", "CSE", "cute", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: * From Middle English cause (also with the sense of “a thing”), borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), borrowed from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), from Proto-Italic *kaussā, which is of unknown origin. Doublet of chose (“(law) a thing; … The correct English form is cause, spelled C-A-U-S-E.
Definition
- 1The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.
- 2Sufficient reason.
- 3A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.
- 4Sake; interest; advantage.
- 5Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.
- 6A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action.
Etymology
* From Middle English cause (also with the sense of “a thing”), borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), borrowed from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), from Proto-Italic *kaussā, which is of unknown origin. Doublet of chose (“(law) a thing; personal property”). See accuse, excuse, recuse, ruse. Displaced native Old English intinga. * From Middle English causen, Old French causer and Medieval Latin causāre.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acuse,casue,caues,causse,ccause,cuase
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cause - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "cause"?
What does "cause" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "cause"?
How do you pronounce "cause"?
What is the origin of the word "cause"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “cause”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-U-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kɔːz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cue” - see the side-by-side comparison. cause vs cue
- 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.