lost cause

L l

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [lawst, lost kawz]
- /lɔst, lɒst kɔz/
- /lɒst kɔːz/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [lawst, lost kawz]
- /lɔst, lɒst kɔz/

Definitions of lost cause words

noun lost cause a cause that has been defeated or whose defeat is inevitable. 1
noun lost cause sb, sth hopeless 1
countable noun lost cause If you refer to something or someone as a lost cause, you mean that people's attempts to change or influence them have no chance of succeeding. 0
noun lost cause a cause with no chance of success 0
noun lost cause an undertaking or movement that has failed or is certain to fail 0
noun lost cause (Idiomatic) A cause, attempt, or effort that is hopeless or futile. 0

See all 6 definitions of lost cause

Information block about the term

Origin of lost cause

First appearance:

before 1860

One of the 29% newest English words

First recorded in 1860-65

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Lost cause

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Lost cause

lost cause popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 44% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 56% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

lost cause usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for lost cause

noun lost cause

red herring — a smoked herring.
fool's errand — a completely absurd, pointless, or useless errand.

All 2 Synonyms of lost cause