root cause
Identifying the 'root cause' is essential in fields like engineering, business, and healthcare to address underlying issues and prevent recurrence.
🇺🇸 US Voice:
🇬🇧 UK Voice:
Definition
B2General
(common)The primary reason behind a problem or situation.
Example
- The root cause of the malfunction was a faulty wire.
C1Technical
(formal, academic)The fundamental factor leading to a chain of events resulting in a specific outcome.
Example
- Engineers conducted a thorough investigation to identify the root cause of the system failure.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "root cause":
root aboutcancer rootroot and branchroot systemcommon causeroot extraction