Contextualizebeta

probable cause

noun

Etymology

Elliptical for “probable cause to suspect a crime has been committed”, where probable carries the sense “worthy of acceptance or belief”. Attested in legal contexts since the 17th century.

Definitions

  1. Reasonable grounds for making an arrest or conducting a personal or property search.

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically

    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see probable, cause.

    • the probable cause of the accident

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for probable cause. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA