because

[bih-kawz, -koz, -kuhz]

conjunction

1. for the reason that; due to the fact that.

   The boy was absent because he was ill.

preposition

1. Informal.,  (used directly before a noun, adjective, verb, interjection, etc., to convey a very concise rationale, excuse, or explanation).

   We’re a little like monkeys because evolution.

   He doesn’t practice enough: because lazy.

   I love doughnuts because yum!

because

/ -ˈkəz, bɪˈkɒz /

conjunction

1. (subordinating) on account of the fact that; on account of being; since

   because it's so cold we'll go home

2. (preposition) on account of

   I lost my job because of her

Usage

See reason.

Word History and Origins

Origin of because¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English bi cause; by ( def. ), cause ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of because¹

C14 bi cause , from bi _by + _cause

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. because of, by reason of; due to.

   Schools were closed because of heavy snowfall.

Example Sentences

And one of the girls recognised the man taking the cash and handing over the drugs, because she'd bought from him before.

From BBC

WhatsApp - whose owner, Meta, is designated an extremist organisation in Russia - is especially popular with older people because of how easy it is to register and use.

From BBC

"My life is more interesting because of what's happened to me," he insisted.

From BBC

District Judge Vince Chhabria noted that the lawsuit was tossed because the plaintiffs “made the wrong arguments,” but the ruling didn’t “stand for the proposition that Meta’s use of copyrighted materials to train its language models is lawful.”

From Los Angeles Times

And in his stead, Shohei Ohtani was tapped to fill in on short notice, offering to take the ball two days after having his own scheduled pitching start on Wednesday scratched because of an illness.

From Los Angeles Times

When To Use

Spelling tips for because

The word because is hard to spell since the -cause part of the word is pronounced [ koz ] or [ kuhz ]. How to spell because: The word cause means "reason or motive". To remember how to spell because, ask yourself, "What could be the cause of that?" Add be to the beginning of cause and you have because.