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Glite Dictionary
due to

due to

∞ 1.0
Because of something
  • adposition
translation icon : debido a
  • She missed the meeting due to a family emergency.
  • due to the fact
  • largely due to
  • possibly due to

He broke up with his ex due to distance and losing the spark.

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Examples

  • Unfortunately, we have no job prospects due to the pandemic.

  • The dog, Lika, died a few hours after launch due to heat and stress.

  • I think now it's due to lack of air.

  • Part of that is going to be due to specifically China.

  • Do they always occur due to external forces?

  • For example, Catherine was unable to attend university after high school due to difficult family circumstances.

    Academic text (2011)

  • People often do not use a system due to a lack of skills and/or knowledge.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Due to a technical problem with our radar tracking system, all flights are postponed until further notice.

    Rat Race (2001)

  • Consequently, domestic violence had increased due to escalating levels of stress and unemployment.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The children engaging in problem behavior lose additional instructional time due to their removal from the classroom.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

because of
vsdue to
∞ 1.0

For a reason that explains why something happened

states the cause as the result of a particular factor
on account of
vsdue to
66 1.7

Because of something such as illness or rain

frames the cause as the reason resulting in the outcome
by virtue of
vsdue to
  • Formal
25 4.5

Because of something

focuses on a cause leading to an outcome rather than sequence

Surface Forms

due to main

Morphology

due + to

The meaning 'because of/resulting from' is directly derived from combining 'due' (caused by/expected) with the preposition 'to' that marks relation; together they form a standard cause-marker construction. This composition is cross-linguistically common and follows predictable combinatory logic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand the expression.

Etymology

Due to comes from the idea that due means 'owed' or 'belonging' to a cause, like a result that is given to its reason. So when we say something happened due to X, we mean it happened 'because of' X.