1. root cause - Noun
2. root cause - Verb
root cause (plural root causes)
(idiomatic) An initiating cause of a chain of events which leads to an outcome or effect of interest.
root cause (third-person singular simple present root causes, present participle root causing, simple past and past participle root caused)
(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).
root-cause (third-person singular simple present root-causes, present participle root-causing, simple past and past participle root-caused)
Alternative form of root cause
root-cause
Poverty is not the root cause of crime. Rush Limbaugh
Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever. George Orwell
The root cause of the threat we face is the extremist ideology itself. David Cameron
Anti-Semitism is nothing but the antagonistic attitude produced in the non-Jew by the Jewish group. The Jewish group has thrived on oppression and on the antagonism it has forever met in the world. The root cause is their use of enemies they create in order to keep solidarity. Albert Einstein
When it comes down to it, the root cause of war is always population pressure no matter what other factors enter in. Robert A. Heinlein
The root cause of terrorism lies not in grievances but in a disposition toward unbridled violence. This can be traced to a world view which asserts that certain ideological and religious goals justify, indeed demand, the shedding of all moral inhibitions. Benjamin Netanyahu