(chiefly UK) An issue or incident (originally, a legal case) arousing widespread controversy or public debate.

(idiomatic) A person or thing that is hopeless or futile.

plural of cause of action

Alternative spelling of first cause

(theology, philosophy, sometimes capitalized) An initial cause from which all other causes and effects follow.

(transitive) The action of identifying the cause of a chain of events which leads to an outcome or effect of interest. To root cause something's root cause does not necessarily imply the use of root cause analysis (RCA).

(idiomatic) An initiating cause of a chain of events which leads to an outcome or effect of interest.

(intransitive) To cause controversy, or raise a disturbance.

(law) An event which, in a natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any efficient intervening cause, produces an injury, and without which the injury would not have occurred.

(law) the case title for a cause of action/lawsuit; a description of the parties involved, such as Johnson v. Smith.