determine the cause

Meaning

This formal phrase means to discover, identify, or establish the exact reason why something happened, typically an accident, a technical failure, an illness, or a problem. It is commonly used in scientific, medical, legal, and professional investigation contexts where precise analysis is required.

Examples

• Engineers are working around the clock to determine the cause of the system failure.

  Engineers are working around the clock to determine the cause of the system failure.

• It took several diagnostic tests for the doctors to finally determine the cause of his symptoms.

  It took several diagnostic tests for the doctors to finally determine the cause of his symptoms.

• An official investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the train derailment.

  An official investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the train derailment.

• Without further data, it is virtually impossible to determine the cause of the sudden market drop.

  Without further data, it is virtually impossible to determine the cause of the sudden market drop.

• Fire investigators are currently on-site trying to determine the cause of the blaze.

  Fire investigators are currently on-site trying to determine the cause of the blaze.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We need to find out the cause of why it happened.

  ✓ We need to determine the cause of the issue.

  'Determine the cause of why it happened' is redundant because 'cause' already implies the reason why something occurred.

• ✗ The team is trying to decide the cause of the error.

  ✓ The team is trying to determine the cause of the error.

  'Decide' implies making a subjective choice, whereas 'determine' implies discovering an objective truth through investigation.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Medical experts are analyzing the blood samples to ___ of the outbreak.

  💡 Formal. Find the exact reason for the illness.

  Show answer

  determine the cause

• The IT department spent hours trying to ___ of the network crash.

  💡 Base form. Establish the source of the technical issue.

  Show answer

  determine the cause