A hopeless undertaking, as in Trying to get him to quit smoking is a lost cause. In the 1860s this expression was widely used to describe the Confederacy.
[Mid-1800s] Also see
losing battle.
lost cause
| Idioms: lost cause |
| 5min Related Video: lost cause |
| WordNet: lost cause |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
a defeated cause or a cause for which defeat is inevitable
Learn More
 | cause (Idiom) |
| "Lost Cause" (American history) |
| lost (Idiom) |
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Copyrights:
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 | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- cause (Idiom)
- "Lost Cause" (American history)
- lost (Idiom)
- Love Is the Place/Honesty (1996 Album by Curtis Mayfield)
- losing battle, a (Idiom)
- save one's breath (Idiom)
- Abram Joseph Ryan (literature)
- Anna Kramer (Rock Artist)
- Guizot, Madame (Quotes By)
- Lost Cause in Paradise (2002 Album by Wishbone Ash)
- Arthur Görgey (Hungarian military leader)
- Contagious (1987 Album by The Bar-Kays)
- Das Haus in Montevideo (1963 Film)
- It's Go Time (2000 Album by The Movielife)
