Synonyms

lost cause

American

noun

a cause that has been defeated or whose defeat is inevitable.

lost cause British

noun

a cause with no chance of success

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

lost cause Idioms

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.

Etymology

Origin of lost cause

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Trying to make OpenClaw fully safe to use is a lost cause,” said security start-up Aikido in a February blog post.

From Barron's

Added to a pantry pasta when you realize the crisper drawer is a lost cause.

From Salon

The lithe physique of the rubber man of tennis enabled him to chase down seemingly lost causes and he combined a brutally efficient game with a rock-solid defence.

From Barron's

Firetrucks hurtled by, forgoing those burning homes believed to be lost causes.

From Los Angeles Times

They were comfortable confiding in one another to the point of calling the war “already a lost cause for Germany,” as Kiep put it.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023